


You've Got Monster 15

by Aria Serif (Mysterie)



Series: Sanctuaryverse [16]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Dancetale, Alternate Universe - Swapfell, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Error Sans - Errortale, F/M, Gen, Ink Sans (Inktale -____tale), alternate universe - Swapdance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:00:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 69,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25199647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysterie/pseuds/Aria%20Serif
Summary: A set of brothers live together, trying to make the best of life that they can; but they are both haunted by a past of things that they have done in the world they came from despite that they were brought to Sancturaryverse for a second chance at happiness and a second chance at life itself. The past, however, refuses to let go ...A well-meaning soul enters their lives, but she is not the angel that she wishes she was... but nor is she the devil she believes herself to be ...
Relationships: Aria & Tyra, Chara & Alphys, Chara & Gaster, Dream/Sugar, Foxtrot/Tutu, Ink/Smartie, Nicole & Celeste, RC & Celeste, RC/Nicole, Raps & Alphys, Raps & Aria, Raps & Classic, Raps & Dream, Raps & Error, Raps & Foxtrot, Raps & Hope, Raps & Ink, Raps & Nicole, Raps & RC, Raps & Red, Raps & Salsa, Raps & Slim, Raps & Stretch, Raps/Chara, Salas & Nicole, Salsa & Aria, Salsa & Chara, Salsa & Classic, Salsa & Dream, Salsa & Error, Salsa & Hope, Salsa & Ink, Salsa & RC, Salsa & Red, Salsa & STretch, Salsa & Tyra
Series: Sanctuaryverse [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771579
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: PLEASE NOTE! SWAPDANCE IS A UNIVERSE THAT IS STILL IN CREATION. THE BACK STORY FOR RAPS/SALSA/HOPE IS NOT CANON FOR THE ALPHA TIMELINE FOR THIS UNIVERSE! IT WAS DESIGNED BY US AND THUS IS AN ALTERNATE TIMELINE! 
> 
> ALSO, DUE TO LACK OF INFO ON THE UNIVERSE, THE FOLLOWING NAMES ARE NOT CANNON TO THE ALPHA TIMELINE UNLESS THEIR CREATOR MAKES IT SO: RAPS, SALSA, HOPE
> 
> ALSO, THE NICKNAMES FOR THE FRISKS, CHARAS, UNDYNES, ALPHYS, ETC ARE OURS TOO AND ARE NOT NECESSARILY CANNON TO THEIR RESPECTIVE UNIVERSE/MULTIVERSE.

It was just another day at the studio... or rather, he had come for a private lesson. It was until about two months ago that he’d run into his idol... well, okay, not literally. He’d been skimming the internet when he’d run into the guy idly skimming chats out of boredom with his mate. Five years had passed since the huge clash between Dream and his brother. All had been quiet since and it was really a huge relief. Now, here he was, at a studio he and his brother owned. He and Foxtrot seemed to share similar traits, though it was honestly weird, at first. Their first meeting had been a little awkward, but he’d introduced himself and the two had begun to talk about why they were there and plan a few things. They’d showed off tricks and such and eventually the awkwardness had vanished and the two had become friends through dance. Unlike him, however, Foxtrot was fast and his moves flowed much better; that was why he wanted to learn from him. The once-famous Double S. THE Sansational Stepper. The best hip-hop dancer known to ever hit the stage at a young age. Unlike Foxtrot, however, he’d been reluctant to take the stage for anyone.... He’d even been reluctant to dance with his brother. His brother was definitely hyperactive and loved to dance more than anything. He, however, had a massive sense of stage fright.

Like Foxtrot, he was nervous to get on stage, but for a different reason; the famous dancer had a tragic past and that was why he didn’t feel the need to be on stage, that wasn’t the same though as his own issue. For him, he had just always been afraid. He had seen what happened to those who were booed off a stage and it honestly had only made him that much more terrified. It hadn’t helped that his parents had been well-known for their own styles; his mother had been great with Yankgo while his father had been a great tap dancer. 

Today though, he was tired from the lesson. They’d been at it for hours and he had been experimenting with new dance moves, and he just wasn’t getting many of them due to their complexity, and even Foxtrot had a bit of trouble with some, but they were sort of learning this together - in a sense. Still, at the end of the day, he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to chill. It was just his luck that his brother was out camping with some of their friends this week. He had a whole four days to himself. So he logged on to the net just to see if there was anyone interesting out there.

  
  


Shyguy101 has logged in

Shyguy101 has logged out

  
  
  


He could do better than that. Plus he didn’t want others to nitpick at his name.

  
  
  


Footlaxi has logged in

Xtrafunsize: Hi

He snorted at the name he saw.

Footlaxi: shouldn’t that be my name? ;3

Xtrafunsize: Pfff… hey how are you? I am so bored.

Footlaxi: makes 2 of us.

Xtrafunsize: I bet you are not staring at a computer waiting for some lab work to be done though ^_~

Footlaxi: i ain’t been in a lab in years

Xtrafunsize: Former scientist or were you being tested on? 

Footlaxi: i tested on myself. not the best of ideas. 

Xtrafunsize: Yeah, that is like rule umm… 598 but then again some of the greatest scientist discovered some great things like the first doctor gave himself a heart catheador to prove it is safe before using it on his own patients.

Footlaxi: yeah, but i wasn’t gonna subject someone else to questionable methods at the time either. i only heard rumors of that. didn’t know it had any merit.

Xtrafunsize: Care to tell a complete stranger?

Footlaxi: sure, if it wasn’t classified. sorry, all i can tell you is that it was a project meant to free monsters from the underground. any and all information regarding details of it is strictly classified without the permission of the king and queen of sector 8

Xtrafunsize: I understand. ^_^ No worries. I am assuming there was no real bad side effects hopefully. Care to tell a random stranger what you do for a living now that brings you to findafriend site?

Footlaxi: i’m a music instructor. u?

Xtrafunsize: ^_^ that sounds like fun. I am a Junior scientific researcher for the Royal scientists. I do other things but I am not allowed to talk about it. Sorry D-=

Footlaxi: i also teach dance to the royal court. have a nice cream cart, used to be a sentry too until ... well, that doesn’t really matter much.

And then there was his job that he’d recently found out meant he was almost obligated to attend meetings for... what a pain that was. At least the meetings were few and far in between. He’d lucked out there.

Xtrafunsize: That sounds like a lot of fun. ^_^. I am not much for outdoors as I can binge a lot of TV but I am usually stuck inside anyways.

Footlaxi: just don’t go tellin’ anyone i teach dance. you’ll ruin my rep. not to mention i don’t want anyone actually knowing outside the courts. i don’t know why i told you. 

Xtrafunsize: Okay, random being I don’t know. XD

Footlaxi: i ... have issues. i just would prefer it not get out that the royals have someone to teach them. 

Xtrafunsize: This is why I love the internet. If you want to spill your guts out and never your name I won’t be able to do that.

Footlaxi: true, but i’d never hear the end of it if this got out - at least not from my brother. he’s always telling me i need to get out and dance... but... well, i’m shy. i had a lot of trouble just getting up the guts to ask my idol to dance with me... and he’s a pro at it. i ain’t half as good as he is... but he and i are good friends now.

Xtrafunsize: I get that. I want to be Senior scientist but as long as Alphys and Undyne and Gaster take the top of the field I will never get it.

Footlaxi: hmmm, well it means you have your work cut out for ya... but i bet i could help. it’s not well known... but that “elite” group actually is co-headed... and not by alphys or undyne. gaster is just one, the other one who heads that division... he’s a co-worker of mine you could say. tell you what, you get together a thesis and give it to me and i’ll pass it along.

Xtrafunsize: Uhh… but don’t you want to stay anonymous? 

Footlaxi: heh, i have a ton of different emails you could send it to. none of which would give away who i am. the only one at risk here would likely be you.

Xtrafunsize: True I will put the royal symbol and copyright stickers so in case you are some random being trying to steal my work it will help discourage that.

Footlaxi: i ain’t. but i understand the precaution. no offense taken here.

Xtrafunsize: I have a theory that souls can be healed using other souls. It is a working hypothesis.

Footlaxi: that right? now i wanna read this myself. here: jazzmenot@notarealemail.com

Footlaxi: so what’s the story behind your username? 

Xtrafunsize: It is because I like those fun size candy bars. X3 Plus, it was my nickname for a bit from my ex before he and my best friend decided they are more fun together in my bed. Talk about a surprise to come home to. 

Footlaxi: yikes. what an asshole.

Xtrafunsize: It just taught me a valuable lesson that true love doesn’t exist and that I should just go out there and just have fun.

Footlaxi: my idol would disagree with you. he’s been married to his true love for almost six years now and they have a kid. i only fantasize about the perfect dance myself. i’m a sp. 

Xtrafunsize: I dated Spencer for three years. He thought I was boring. What is a sp?

Footlaxi: pff it’s short for ‘single pringle’ and he’s an ass for stringin’ ya along for three years. if he thought you were boring he shoulda just vamoosed the first year.

Xtrafunsize: You are so right about the ex but… why do you call yourself a single pringle?

Footlaxi: it’s just a term to mean i am single, just lingo. nothin’ more.

Xtrafunsize: Don’t worry single pringle as I know that no pringle last forever because everyone loves pringles. X3

Footlaxi: guess i’m destined for crumbs then x3

Xtrafunsize: Don’t worry someone will lick them all up ^_~

Footlaxi: kinky

Xtrafunsize: Oh my gosh I didn’t mean it like that =0_0=

Footlaxi: x3 sure ya didn’t

Xtrafunsize: I didn’t!! =O_O= >< eeeps

Footlaxi: pff, relax, i’m just yankin’ yer chain

Xtrafunsize: X3 Good I too have a reputation to uphold. I don’t go around licking random things. XD

Footlaxi: so you’re not a dog monster. got it. ;3

Xtrafunsize: Pfft… you are hilarious.

“Chara, a-are you on one of t-those chats again?” The dark hair with purple highlights lab worker sighed before looking back at her boss, Alphys. 

“Maybe… why?” 

“B-because y-your lab work is r-ready and you w-were supposed to pick it up about 10 minutes ago.” 

Xtrafunsize: Boss is telling me I need to go back to work here is my cell to text me XXX-XXXX the email.

Chara got a burner phone just for these kinds of things. It kept her safe as she had Alphys add as much tech to protect her identity as possible. 

??: yo, text me when you got free time ‘funsize’ 

Funsize: Will do. Have a good day!

“W-we are running b-behind on t-the tests on the F-frisk. Come on w-we got work to do.” Chara gathered her things as she quickly sent a rough draft of her theory to Footlaxi. It was a very detailed report about how even broken souls can be repaired using a mixture of magic and similar souls and determination.

He looked it over, it had a lot more merit than she’d likely been given credit for. He printed it out and shortcut to the corporate office. He was walking in the halls when he saw Classie.

“hey classie, where’s classic?” 

“He is currently taking a small teeny tiny nap. He is in his office.” 

“thanks.” He headed off that way. 

“Is it important? Should I call him and wake him before you get there?” 

“nah, i’ll do it.” 

“Say hi to the little one as well. He is secretly taking care of the babies so I can turn in the reports.” 

“sure.” He waved and headed off to the office.

  
  
  


Inside the office Classic was snoozing with the baby resting on his chest and the toddler sleeping on top of the desk. He couldn’t help but smile, it was cute. He lightly rapped on the desk at the toddler’s feet so not to startle them awake.

“knock knock.” He said softly. The baby barely stirred as they nuzzled closer to their father.

“who is there?” 

“taka.”

“taka who?” Classic said with a smirk as the other hands over the papers that he got from his online buddy.

“taka look at this and see if ya don’t agree this is a theory worth backin’.” 

“what is this?” Classic asked as flipped through the papers quickly. 

“wait... i think i've seen something similar before. these look very interesting though. it really has some merit.” 

“might have, i met the author last night... in a matter of speakin’. an’ from what i hear they’re not gettin’ the credit they deserve due to all the others kinda monopolizin’ the industry. figured if anyone thought it merited anythin’ it’d be you.” 

“here is the interesting thing. i am almost certain dr. alphys presented something very similar.” 

“so then the question is... who had the research first? hmmm, might have to do some digging there.” 

“exactly.” Classic said. 

“i think it’s worth lookin’ into.” 

“i hope you find your answers unless they are both one in the same. is their name alphys too?” 

“nah, the author didn’t stutter.” 

“that is a pretty good indication.”

“i’ll have the security footage pulled from the time before it was originally presented and talk to the author of this one. as well as several who were workin’ closely with dr. alphys.” 

“good luck that section… is the newest one for aria’s and nicole’s rescues.” 

“that right? maybe i should talk to them too while i’m at it. if anyone knows for sure who the real author is... it’d be one of them.” Unlike the others, he wasn’t so iffy around the two Creators.

“well i wish you luck with that. i am going back to “sitting” the kids.” 

“heh, the missus wanted me to say hi to ‘em but i think i’ll just let ‘em sleep.” 

“next time. thanks again bud.” 

  
  


Chara worked with a special group of scientists to figure out a way to cure corrupted souls and the ones whose souls are falling apart. The Frisk in question was kept in a tank to keep them from hurting others and themselves. Frisk wasn’t the only soul corrupted or hurting there were all sorts of beings that were there. Some were better shape than others but most were not ready for the public. 

*I see you decided to join us Chara.

“Yes, Dr. Gaster. Sorry, for the inconvenience. I got the lab results you were requesting on Frisk. It appears there is no change for now.” 

“that’s a shame.” 

“Hello Doctor.” Chara said thinking it was another doctor.

“please, no formalities. i ain’t here in uniform.” The skeleton in question had on a light orange hoodie jacket, dark blue jeans and tennis shoes. 

“I see. Dr. Gaster. If you would just look at my hypo-”

*I told you that when you are a higher rank Dr. Chara that I will. 

“a moment of your time  _ doc. _ if you please.” The other skeleton said, straightening slightly as he met the other’s gaze. A subtle hint that the topic was serious.


	2. Chapter 2

*While I am away please focus your energy on the task on hand.

“Yes sir.”  The tall skeleton followed the other without comment into the office, he shut the door behind him.

“so, what do you know about dr. alphys? about her theory on the souls?” He asked bluntly, he wasn’t going to beat around the bush with this one. He didn’t particularly like Gaster and that’s why he stayed out of the science field. They were often arrogant know-it-alls who liked to rub what they knew in the faces of others and sometimes belittled others because of it. The word “humble” didn’t seem to be in their vocabulary.

*Yes, I have heard of this theory though I think I can make a better one that would work much better so we haven’t-

“cut the bullshit. i asked what you knew, not your goddamn theory on the subject.” 

*Do you want to have a civil conversation or do you plan to be a jerk?”

“i don’t want to hear your arrogant minded ideals on someone else’s work. i want a straight ass answer and not this ‘oh i think’ bullshit you pull on everyone else who walks into your office. i couldn’t care less what you  _ think _ on the thesis. i didn’t ask for an opinion here and this is a very official matter.” 

*Short answer. Dr. Alphys is half-ways decent and her theory of the souls is a very recent one. I don’t know what inspired her to look into that. 

“did she work with anyone else around the time it was released?” 

*Yes, you already made your acquaintance with Dr. Chara. She is one of the few she worked with.

“anyone else?” 

*Besides myself and a few other monsters no. Those are the only ones.

“who else was she working with at the time?” 

*At the time? You mean when she came up with that so-so theory?

“don’t play stupid.” He crossed his arms. Clearly that was what they had been talking about the entire time.

*Dr. Chara mostly but she also worked with Dr. Undyne as well. Does that help?

“great. thanks for your time, by the way doc... next time a judge corners you for questions... don’t beat around the bush. not all of ‘em are as tolerant of you as i am. i’d hate to see what classic would do if you pulled this shit with him.” He left the room.

*Ha… asshole… 

“takes one to know one.” He shot back from the other room. He walked over to Chara.

“heya, how’s it goin’? mind if i take up some time? sorry about earlier, my bro says i gotta work on my manners. the name’s papyrus, but most call me raps.” 

“Nice to meet you Raps. My name is Dr. Chara.” Chara offered her hand but forgot she had a bottle in her hand and transferred to her free hand and offered it again. He chuckled and shook her hand after she transferred the bottle.

“How can I help you? You should be wearing a m- never mind. It isn’t like it will change much.” 

“a what? a mask?” He asked, curious.

“Magical mask around your soul. The souls here are tainted and unlike some… they don’t believe that it can possibly taint others.” She pulled a small charm out that would be put around the neck. 

“It is a simple spell but I can’t do it myself so Toriel makes them for us. Would you like one to use?” 

“ah, nah, i got a different kind of protection from that kinda stuff. comes from back when i was still in this industry, but i appreciate the thought. which tori makes these?” He seemed fascinated by the pendant she was holding. 

“I come from a world that was more stable but it was destroyed by Blink.” 

“sounds like my world, peaceful, but it was destroyed too.” 

“I am so sorry. It is hard to move on some days. My job is to do research but I like to dabble into things I am not supposed to do. I shouldn’t have told you that. Are you a visitor or you a scientist? If you are a visitor you need a special badge.” 

“i’m not exactly either/or. don’t worry about it, ain’t your job to monitor that; you just worry about the important things. i have a couple questions for ya is all. won’t take up too much of your time, mind if we chat away from the rest?” 

“Uhh… sure?” Chara wasn’t sure what this monster was trying to do. She was trying to memorize all the features of this Papyrus in case this turns out to be a huge mistake. He led her off to a side room and closed the door.

“sorry but my investigation is supposed to be kept from those who don’t need to know. gaster said you worked on a project recently with dr. alphys, right? a theoretical one on souls. what do you know about this project’s appearance? like, how it got started and who all worked on.” He put his hands into his hoodie and tapped his phone discreetly so that her answer would be recorded, just like his little chat with gaster had been. Not that the other skeleton knew it.

“Wait… she has a theory on souls too?” Chara was shocked. 

“one moment.” He pulled out his phone and tapped it, as if activating it, he was actually hiding the recording application and brought up the internet and pulled up a copy of the work.

“she published this not too long ago.” He handed her his phone. Chara skimmed through the contents. She hands the phone back to Papyrus as she mutters several swear words under her breath. He closed the document, but he wasn’t paying much attention to it as he seemed to be observing her.

“i see. your expression says a lot. apparently you know this material even though you have never seen it before.” 

“I showed my theory I have been working on for years to her a couple of months ago. I was hoping for some insight and she said it was garbage.” 

“heh... oh the judge is going to have hay day with this one. he’s the one i work for by the way, so you can see why this has to be confidential.” He stuck his phone into his pocket.

“thanks for your time. we’ll get this straightened out for you. one thing though, you didn’t happen to have your original copy or a copy of it that has a date on it do you? it’d be helpful if you did before i talk to alphys.” 

“Sure, I have even some of the rough drawings I did a couple of years back on the Gryftmas program.” 

“i just need one copy that has a date on it, that’s all. it’ll be more than enough evidence.” 

“I will have to go to my office.” 

“i’ll follow you to make sure no one tries to interfere. i know how gaster is.” He opened the door and motioned for her to go first. Chara led them to her office as they went by Raps noticed a couple of lackeys watching them a little too closely as they went by.  The look he shot them, when he noticed, would be enough to make a snowman shiver, because even as he didn’t change his stance, there was something... dangerous, about the look he gave him that just dared them to get too close... 

“Here we are.” Chara opened the door and a puff of dust hit her in the face. 

“uh, you okay?” Raps asked, seeing the dust. She immediately started to puff up as she started to wheeze. 

“Al-aller-… p-peanuts…” She was patting at her lab coat to grab the epipen. 

“fuck.” He muttered and pulled out his phone again, grabbing a towel and wiped the stuff off even as his magic sparked to try and control the reaction as best as possible, giving her time to find what she needed. She grabbed the pen and jammed it into her thigh. Her face looked like she went through a beehive and got stung over and over again.  Raps shot off a text and went over to a wall nearby and put his hand on the pad near the door, but wasn’t the door control. Most didn’t know what it did. The pad beeped.

“Authentication Verified. Please input command.”

“code 2451-62.”

“Code verified. State command.”

“lock-down.” All the doors, save for the ones currently open within the facility itself suddenly locked. It would require a very high authority to unlock even one door let alone the entire facility.

Raps: classic, this is serious. someone just tried to possibly kill dr. chara by invoking her allergies. it was a clear set up. peanut dust doesn’t just gather and sure as hell doesn’t just hit someone in the face like a dirt cloud. the place is on lock-down.

It was a simple trap as it was just a large firework popper set to go off once someone opened the door. Raps went back over to Chara.

“you feeling okay?” He was concerned that it might cause further problems. She nodded but she couldn’t really speak very well. He sighed in relief.

“good, i’d hate to lose my chat buddy so soon. especially to something as stupid as this.” She pointed at the desk at where the file’s location should be. He went in and opened up the file. As if it wasn’t bad enough they tried hitting her once with peanut dust another huge puff of dust came out of the desk, and it was empty of the one thing that was there.  Rap’s expression darkened slightly in annoyance.

“use your phone. where’s the other copies you have? not here i hope because they got to this one; whoever took it knew not only your allergy but they took the file.” He pulled out his phone and showed her his number so that she could use her phone to talk to him. She was struggling to see but she complied as best as she could. Eventually she gave up and just handed him the phone. He sighed as he figured out what the problem might be and nodded.

“okay, obviously this isn’t going to work. let’s just do yes and no questions then. are the other copies of your work here in the lab?” 

“Y-yes.” Chara pointed at the corner of the room. There was a plant stand on top of a rug. On top of the plant stand was a plastic cheap plant that had gathered dust from sitting there for years. 

“Under…” He nodded and went over to the plant, he picked up the plant then moved the rug. He wasn’t sure what to expect. Under the rug he noticed the tile was a little bit loose. With a bit of magic he moved the tile. He might not have to breathe, but he didn’t want to be hit with powder like that a second time if the culprit knew about this copy. In the empty cavity was a slight mistake from whomever was there by leaving one of the pages, leaving a bunch of miscellaneous things like art and pictures of her and her friends.  Raps used his magic to lift out the pages from there and laid them on the desk for Chara to look over.

“any of this part of it?” Chara felt like crying as she began to go through the papers.

“didn’t think so. which means whoever took it... you shouldn’t have trusted like this. might i suggest, in the future, keeping rough drafts at home to prevent this? and not telling your co-workers where you keep things.” 

“Home.” Chara muttered.

“yeah, i did and i know a good handful of others who do as well.” 

“There is a copy at home too.” 

“we’ll head there soon, but i imagine we won’t get out before gaster finds me and starts demanding answers. seeing as how the lock-down means no one can teleport in or out and he doesn’t have the override.” 

“C-can y-you take me to the h-hospital?” 

“i can’t, but i can get you there. follow me.” He headed out of the room and walked through the halls, ignoring the chaos that was starting as others began to realize things were locked down. He pulled out his phone and started shooting off texts. One was to his brother, who was working in the studio not far from here, as it happened.

broski: hey, it’s a bit of an emergency. i need you to run a gal down to the hospital. you’re the closest to the labs and i can’t leave because it’s on lock-down.

lilbro : Be There Soon. Just Text Me The Info Of Where To Be.

broski: south side. where the oak tree is.

He had led Chara through a maze of halls and through a door that he’d had to manually override. Soon enough Sans was there. 

“I am sorry.” Chara muttered. 

“don’t apologize, ain’t your fault. you can trust my brother to get you there. hey sans.” 

“Where Is The Patient? OH… Her Face Looks…” 

“allergies, just take her.” Sans picked her up and looked over at Raps.

“I Will Come Back.” 

“only if you can, i’ll be sure to fill you in later if you miss anything.” 

“Alright, Come On Little Lady. Time To Go.” Chara nodded.

“T-thank you Papyrus.” She said before Sans and her disappeared. Raps went back inside. He wasn’t in the main hall for more than a minute before Gaster caught up to him.

*Care to explain what is happening?

“two accounts of attempted murder and theft of property.” 

*What are you blabbering about? Who was trying to kill who? 

“dunno the culprit... tell me though, how many around here know that dr. chara has an allergy? because this powder on my face ain’t a new beauty product  _ doc _ .” 

*It would probably be in her medical files and in her food preferences in the cafeteria.

“let me try this again in plain english since you like giving stupid answers.  _ who _ would have access to the information that could have likely been fatal to be doused with a face full of the very thing that could have caused her to  _ choke _ to death.” 

*I am trying to tell you. The medical and the food staff would be some of the main areas to get the information.

“duh, but who else? obviously  _ you _ know because you have to, but who else?” 

*Her boss probably and possibly her friends or anyone who hacks into the account.

“she doesn’t have friends here obviously and it was obviously an inside job because i saw for myself that all documents in even a place no one else should know about were taken. meaning it was someone she worked with because no outsider is allowed this deep into the lab.” 

*Did you check the camera feed? We have enough cameras that face into the room. None are in the room but the culprit should be caught on film.

“provided they aren’t smart enough to do what you just said... hack the system. anyone who works here, especially with a “dr” title would have more than enough knowledge to bypass a simple camera.”

*I am not sure who would do it. I am not sure. 

“i have a few suspects. not you though, you don’t give enough of a fuck to attempt anything like this and even if you did - you wouldn’t use something as childish as a party popper as a death trap. not your style.” 

*I would be more subtle if I was going to kill someone like use carbon dioxide. 

“which is why you aren’t suspect. i know how you gasters think.” 

*Go gather your suspects detective. 

“cute.” He walked off, leaving Gaster to his own thoughts, because now the other would have to deal with the paperwork that came with reporting the incident, not to mention figuring out how said individual got hired in the first place. He found one of the other interns that Chara had been working with.

“hey, is doctor ‘mews’ in today?” It was just a nickname, they all had them.

“Hi Raps!” An Undyne said, coming over with a smirk. He looked over and smiled a little.


	3. Chapter 3

“heya doc. rough day today eh?” 

“C-crazy day. I have to say the rumors going around are even juicer though.” 

“forget the rumors. i’m here on  _ official _ business.” 

“Can’t b-business and pleasure be one of the same?” 

“considering this is life or death. no.” 

“W-what if they w-were? Maybe about D-doctor Chara.” 

“undyne.” He said flatly.

“F-fine I thought y-you were here about h-her, sorry.” 

“i’m here after information on a project you helped dr. alphys with recently. you supposedly helped her with the theory on souls. i need to know about that project. if anyone was upset with anyone else and how it came to be that dr. alphys published that theory.” 

“I h-haven’t seen it m-myself but I h-helped with a f-few details. It was p-pretty much done w-when I saw it.” 

“then why did she ask you to help?” He asked.

“It h-had some flaws. It j-just was some m-minor things b-but it is like p-polishing a fine piece of f-furniture.” 

“and did she tell you where she got the idea?” 

“No, b-but she t-told me not to tell anyone, e-especially no one on the t-team.” 

“and you didn’t find this suspicious at all?” 

“I n-never said I d-didn’t but she has b-been acting w-weird for several m-months now.”

“and yet obviously no one has been watching her... meaning that anyone who has noticed has not reported it, as you should... or something was tampered with.”

“I h-have! S-several times. C-come here.” Undyne guided him to the computer and showed 40-50 emails to Gaster that she sent with a similar message of concern about Dr. Alphys. His gaze flickered over the messages.

“and yet none of these have been responded to.” He points out.

“meaning it’s possible that he never got them.”

“I… I … He m-makes me n-nervous.” 

“you tried, and that address is correct... almost.” He pointed to a small dot.

“see this? it’s not supposed to be there in the email. meaning none of these actually got to him.” 

“F-fuck…” 

“whoever gave you that email address lied. i have my own that’s like this one and there are no periods, except for the .com part and for good reason. because that’s not how email works. the systems are geared to only allow for numerical and alphabetical input when you create an email name.” 

“I a-am sorry then. I d-didn’t do a thing then.” Undyne felt upset at herself. 

“not your fault. you were lied to and this isn’t your department. you’re a chemist, not a tech.” 

“W-what is h-happening with this lock down?” 

“it was to keep anyone from leaving while i gathered info. i ain’t the only one who’s going to come here though.”

“This w-work is hard and everyone is t-trying to get out of this d-department for some odd reason. I w-want to help the corrupted souls.” 

“yeah, i know.” 

  
“Is t-there anything I can d-do to help?”

“is al in today too?” 

“Y-yeah, she was t-taking her l-lunch break about an h-hour ago so she should be b-back in the labs.” 

“which was she working today? it hasn’t been that long since i locked everything down, she should have made it back to the lab.” 

“S-she probably is w-with subject A… D-down the hall go to r-room 103.” His phone buzzed and he looked at the text.

“thanks. and if anyone asks tell them that you don’t know but you do know the judge is here.” 

“H-how about I k-know nothing.” 

“he’s going to be asking questions. so you might as well say you know he’s here.” 

“A-alright. T-take care of y-yourself and t-try not l-listening to subject a.” 

“i will. i’ll have to talk to the judge when he makes it this far. you can tell him you talked to me so you don’t have to answer the same questions again.” He headed out of the room and shut the door behind him. He went to the other room.

  
  
  
  


Inside the room Alphys was alone with a Frisk suspended in her tube.

“Y-yes, I w-will protect you m-my precious.” Alphys muttered to Frisk who floated without saying a word. She looked like she was asleep. The door closed with a click, but it was like a gunshot in the mostly empty room.

“Ahh… W-who is t-there?” 

“an agent.”

“A-an agent?”

“the judge is here. i’m just the helper.” 

“W-what? W-why w-would the J-judge n-need to be h-here.” 

“there was an incident. why else?” He knew she would have no way of knowing what had happened... this was a test, but would she pass? He was watching her impassively. He could see her grin before it disappeared.

“O-oh no… w-what happened?” The voice was more sing-song then it should have been. 

“you already know, don’t you?” He had hit the button on his phone before he asked the question.

“I a-am protecting them. I w-will p-protect them all.” 

“from what?”

“T-the fool. H-he is going to a-activate it… s-setting things in m-motion.” 

“who and what?” He asked.

“Gaster. He t-thinks the p-plan is somewhere. I t-told him to g-go… instead it will s-set them all f-free.” 

“what are you talking about? set them free?” It was starting to click as he recalled Chara’s warning about the corrupted souls and how no one heeded her warning about wearing protection. Like any other Judge... he could  _ see _ it.

“S-soon... y-you will be f-free…” Alphys muttered to the container. Her lizard paw caressing the container. 

“i doubt it. and from your tone earlier, i don’t have to tell you what happened because you were the culprit. there is no other way you could have known what would have happened. no way you can know what  _ did _ happen because, according to dr. mews, you were at lunch during the incident. your alibi, you weren’t near the office at the time.” 

“H-hehe… I n-needed to c-change a few d-details. I k-knew he would take the b-bait and now he thinks h-he will get the credit.” He smirked a little.

“thanks, you gave me exactly what i needed.” 

“W-what is t-that?” Alphys was rubbing her body against the tank. It was like catnip to a cat.

“a confession. but you’re clearly off your rocker.” A snap of magic lifted the lizard up and a quick flick of the hand and he’d locked her into a tube and flooded it with the gas that kept the others asleep, if there were others in the room at any rate. Usually the rooms had only one subject, each depending on their condition and such, but he didn’t have time to get her a separate room.

“sorry alphys, but until you’re cured, you’re gonna take a little nap.” His magic kept her suspended in the middle of the tube for the moment so she couldn’t try and break out. She struggled for a moment before slumping into a slumber.  His magic let her go when the gas had thinned out from the tube. He wasn’t taking any chances. He then left the room and locked it behind him. He then searched out Gaster’s soul and on his way there he nearly bumped into a figure in a satin blue robe.

“ah, judge... forgive me.” 

**“you are fine. what is going on? you mentioned something about attempt of murder.”**

“i got evidence of theft and attempted murder. i’ll explain when we find gaster.” Every Judge had their own jurisdiction, but it wasn’t unusual for a Judge to ask another to stand in his stead and act like the local Judge if the situation called for it, most especially to keep their identities from the public and no one at the lab knew - or had any way of knowing - that this area was Rap’s jurisdiction, but in terms of where the division was... his idol was the closest Judge he could call in, so of course he had asked him to come. 

**“you did good work.”**

“thanks.” It meant a lot, on several levels. He and his world hadn’t been here long... even if it was only consistent of three of them; him, his brother... and the human hybrid. They’d only been here about five years.

**“why is gaster down…”** Foxtrot looked down at where the core was.

“shit.” Raps grabbed Foxtrot and shortcut them down there. He knew they had to act fast. 

*And a bit of determination… 

He was starting to pour it and a bit made it in.  Rap’s magic summoned a bone and shattered the container before more could.

“stop! you’re going to doom yourself and everyone else you idiot!” 

*You just want the credit. I will get what I deserve.

“this isn’t about credit you scientific snob!” He grabbed Gaster’s soul and jerked the other over to them. To prevent him from doing anything more. The whole base began to shake and stir some of the pipes began to let out some steam as a loud screech was heard. 

“fuck, fuck... hold him!” He said to Foxtrot and tapped his phone furiously before almost slamming his finger on a button. A blast of energy surged from the device and everything around them just froze where it was except the three of them.

*What is going on?

**“you are in a lot of trouble.”**

“i bought us some time. we need help with this one to keep it contained. we need  _ her. _ ” Raps shot off a text to the one woman who could reverse this sort of thing and not be affected.... Even if she wasn’t half as experienced as her friend, she was the only one who had the power to do it.

Raps: code red.

He then shot off the address with the text. 

Nikki: Be there!

Nicole showed up and stumbled a bit. She glanced around and was unsure what was happening.

“sorry, but i don’t know how long this thing is going to hold, it’s still only a prototype. we need you to erase that.” He pointed at what Gaster had been working on.

“You did good… sorry hang on…” Nicole grabbed Rap’s phone and added more magic before disappearing and roaming through the lab before heading back.

“Okay… so we are going to do a bit of a time reverse thing. You r-ready?” 

“just whatever you have to do in order to stop that thing before it enslaves the entire city.”

“Got it.” 

**“what are w-w-”** Before Foxtrot could finish his line Rap found himself back at the lab with Alphys.

  
  


“W-what happened?” Alphys asked. It was right after he asked her about an incident.  He didn’t answer this time, he just stuck her in the tube and only once she was out did he rush out of the room to find Foxtrot first.

**“downstairs… now.”**

“yup, just grabbing you first.” Rap replied and grabbed him again, once more shortcutting to the lower floor.  Nicole was downstairs, pinning Gaster down and he was yelling and complaining. 

“W-will you j-just be quiet?” 

*Why are you pinning me to the ground?

“You are going to cause problems and I think I made a slight mistake in my timing.”  Well, this wasn’t what he meant, but it was close enough.

“we have a really big issue here with the formula, it won’t do what she said it would.” 

*What do you mean? It will make me a hero.

Rap pulled out his phone and pressed play, his conversation with Alphys coming over the speaker. When it ended, he spoke again.

“the entire time she was treating the canister with the subject in it like a lover. it was really disturbing to see. she nearly killed chara, stole her work, and on top of it she changed it so that it would do the exact opposite... so that you’d take the fall for it instead of her. she was poisoned by the darkness in the souls of the corrupt. chara has been trying to warn every, single, one of you. oh but you think you know everything. so you dismissed her. thinking you would gain from it. you nearly plunged the entire fuckin’ world in darkness. you would have  _ murdered _ one of our own just for your own selfish gain and you wouldn’t even know it wasn’t your doing because you were blind.” 

*She is just a mere spec in the w-

He stopped talking when Nicole removed his mouth.

“Enough. You screwed up. Listen to the one who fucking saved your life.”

“heh, thanks. about time someone shut him up.” 

“You are welcome.”

**“this is interesting. i kinda like him this way.”**

“pff, me too honestly. but i don’t know if that’s enough of a punishment for his arrogance and idiocy. not to mention the account of knowing theft of property and failure to act accordingly as his position requires.” 

“After we get done punishing this guy. I need to have a heart to heart with you guys.” Nicole says as she flipped him upside down and switched his legs with his arms. 

**“wow... talking out of your ass now gaster?”** Gaster glared at the Judge as he just laughed.

“pff... leave it to a creator to get creative.” Raps snickered.

“Well do you think this is enough punishment? I can make him release a fart smell every time he talks too.” 


	4. Chapter 4

“heh, hilarious as that might be no one wants to hear that every single time. hmmm, let’s leave him like this for about a month. that is fine with me... what about you judge?” 

**“I love it but I think every time he tries to swear he makes a fart noise instead.”** Nicole smirked and snapped her finger. The mouth returned on Gaster’s body. A loud fart noise was the first thing they heard.

*What the *fart* have you done to me?

“pff, that’s great. he doesn’t swear often so that will work. also, i will call the others of the science division for a proper hearing in about a week. until then.. i think you can consider yourself on probation gaster. go home.” 

*Go *fart* yourself. 

Nicole snapped her finger as Gaster slipped a little bit as he head towards the elevator and discovered it wasn’t working. Which meant he had to take the stairs… he glared at the group before starting to go up the long trek up. 

“and that’s why you don’t say _that_ to someone who has more power than you do. geez, no respect. even mine had more sense than that.... rest his soul.” 

“Now that we are alone I need to tell you two about the corrupted souls. I imagine you probably wondering why they are here and why Aria and I are not fixing the souls before they come here. It isn’t that we don’t want to help them but it is the fact that the souls can’t actually give us access to their code willingly. We are trying to fix them but it is something we are struggling with at the moment. So you have any questions?” Foxtrot was in just shock.

“maybe if you explain the issue with the code and what’s goin’ wrong one of us can figure out how to bypass it. we’re a bunch of nerds ya know.” 

“I know but it is like accessing the master code. Each soul, though, is corrupted and we are afraid that if we break it that we will break the soul as well.”

“talk to slim, he plays video games, that kinda thing sounds like it’s up his alley in terms of experience. there isn’t a game he hasn’t hacked yet.” 

“I thought all these brainiacs would be able to break the code and look what happened.” Nicole sighed. 

“you just need the right one.” Raps replied.

“I will try Slim and see if he can fix this.”

**“why didn’t you ask us first? i mean all of us should be able to fix it as well.”**

“Well, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone but I feel I should tell you guys after today’s incident.”

“well, it is my district. still, i think you should talk to slim about the code thing, even if you don’t tell him it’s about those souls.” Raps said after a moment. Raps could feel his phone going off.

lilbro: Uhh… Where Are You?

**“more trouble?”**

broski: on the bottom floor, talkin’ to the judge and nikki.

“nah, just my bro lookin’ for me. he took chara to the hospital earlier, if there were trouble he woulda called.” 

**“ahh…”**

“Brother! Did You See Gaster? He Looks Awful!” 

**“don’t worry about it. just know your brother saved the day.”**

“T-the Judge J-just Complimented My Brother! This Is The Best Day!” 

**“i got to do some running around but good job kid.”** Foxtrot offered his hand over to Raps.

“thanks.” Raps smiled and shook the other’s hand. His brother might not know that he was the Judge, but he did know that Raps spent a lot of time helping the Judges. Foxtrot nodded and left and Nicole backed up. She was okay not getting any credit as she disappeared to go home.

“see ya later nikki and thanks for everything.” 

“Your welcome. I am glad I could help.” Nicole disappeared. 

“Why Was She Here?” 

“she had somethin’ she wanted to talk about.” 

“Is That Safe?” 

“perfectly. i’ll fill ya in when we’re home k?” 

“The Maiden Is Now At The Hospital.” 

“she alright?” 

“The Doctor Has Her On Some Heavy Medication But She Should Be Okay.” 

“that’s good to know. bro, why don’t you go home and cook your famous salsa wraps, we’re going to have company tonight.” 

“Sounds Good! I Will Go Make It Right Now!” 

“make sure you make lots. you know they enjoy ‘em.” Raps then pulled out his phone and tapped his contacts, hitting the conference line.

Raps: you need to hear what i have to say, bro’s cookin’ so you don’t have to worry about supper. you can send some to the family too.

Red: add extra peppers not that mild shit

Raps: bro knows to make some especially hot for ya red.

Red: thanx man

Raps: i swear i should change your name to ‘spicy’ lol

Red: my mate calls me hot stuff in bed 

Raps: yeah but she’d kick my ass if i tried that... or anything like it. i ain’t got a death wish.

Slim: when should we be there?

Raps: two hours from now.

Dream: How important is this?

Raps: like, ‘holy fuck, i’m glad i wasn’t you’ important.

Dream: ... we’ll be there then.

Red: so nothing unusual…

Raps: more unusual than you know red. i had to call in back up... like, the high END type.

Papyrus: That Is Serious. The Great Papyrus Will Be Sure To Make Sure My Brother Is There On Time!

Raps: pap, how did you get this number?

Papyrus: ... I Saw It On Sans’ Phone. He Was Asleep When It Went Off.

Red: dude… you are the coolest paps. 

Stretch: pfff... omg... classic is gonna flip.

Papyrus: Flip? My Brother Is Far Too Lazy For Such Things. And Of Course I Am! I Am The Great Papyrus! 

Stretch: *snickers* anyway... 

Raps: thanks pap

Papyrus: Naturally.

  
  


When Raps got home he was almost doubled over in laughter. Seemed Classic wasn’t as careful as he thought.... Oh what he’d give to be a fly on the wall when Classic saw that conversation... He made it to the couch as he started to get himself under control.

“What Is So Funny? I Thought For Sure You Would Be At The Hospital Visiting Your Friend.” 

“h-here you gotta see for yourself.” He handed over his phone so his brother could see the conversation he’d had with the others. 

“plus the guys are coming over by the time the food is done s-so ... i’ll visit to-tomorrow.” He was having trouble talking because he was still laughing so much.

“Pfff… Wow Classic Is Going To Have A Field Day When He Finds Out About Papyrus.” 

“he he... e-exactly! i’d pay to see that show!” 

“I Could Talk To Undyne And She Can Hack Into Papyrus’ Phone So We Can See The Show.” 

“maybe, but i dunno that i wanna see the backlash of what happens if he finds out we did... plus that was a conference call, no way classic won’t see it on his phone. and if she hacked his phone to erase it or mess with it, he’d know and then we’d all be in for it.”

“Still, This Is Very Funny!” Sans laughed. 

“yup, heh, all that time of tellin’ us to keep our mouths shut and he’s the one that screws up.” Raps had finally gotten his laughter under control.

“Will You Allow Me To Attend This Meeting? I Want To Find Out Why A Creator Was There And Why The Judge Was There As Well.” 

“you’ll get to hear it with the rest bro. better make sure the food don’t burn.” 

“Oh, YES!” Sans ran off to the kitchen to monitor the food. 

“That Girl Was Pretty Sick.” Raps followed him into the kitchen.

  
“yeah, she got doused with something she was allergic to, right in the face. it was pretty serious bro.” 

“That Sounds Bad.” 

“yeah, it was... luckily for her your training on healing paid off. even if i’m still not as strong as you are.” 

“Hehe I Told Ya! But You Will One Day Be Just As Strong As Me!” 

“some day, but i need to keep at it. i’ll keep working on it. i’m just glad i was there to help her. toriel knows what woulda happened if i hadn’t been.” 

“I Helped Today Too! I Rescued A Monster Today As Well.” 

“yup, you’re in today’s story too. oh? what monster did you help?” He pulled up a chair to listen to his brother. 

“There Was An Alphys Who Got Herself Stuck In A Tube. Silly Alphys.” 

“oh brother you didn’t...” Raps groaned.

“she wasn’t stuck in there... i put her there! fuck. I thought i locked that door!” 

“I Took Her To The Hospital So She Can Recover. What? I Didn’t Know.” 

“she’s a danger to us all brother.” Raps sighed and called the hospital.

“Hey sorry we are slightly busy right now… hang on.” Frisk yelled into the phone as some chaos can be heard in the background.

“i’ll be there. bro stay here for the moment in case any of the others come early. looks like i got to head to the hospital to clean up the chaos.” Raps ended the call and shortcut to the hospital. He landed in a closet with a thump and threw on the robes before darting into the hallway and the chaos... The robes he had were a soft cyan with gold embroidery. Alphys was struggling against all the doctors and nurses, trying to make her way to the exit. 

**“i’ll take it from here.”** He said as he snagged Alphys’ soul.

“l-let me g-go!” Alphys yelled. 

**“you’re sick, you’re not going anywhere.”**

*Hold her still I got some medicine that will calm her down. 

It took several of the doctors to hold her down so no one would be physically hurt by her flailing. The Gaster poked a needle into her leg. 

“Will it work? She is acting like a mad woman.” One of the nurses asked.

**“she’s infected, her soul is corrupt. i suggest everyone get back and go get your soul checked immediately. i can hold her here whether or not it works. dr. wings, you know what i’m talking about. see to it that everyone here gets checked for the corruption. even the slightest bit... well you know what to do.”** Dr. Wings was Foxtrot’s father, not that Raps knew if Foxtrot had ever gotten to meet him or not. He’d heard about the family issue from Foxtrot, but right now that didn’t matter much.

*Alright everyone go to the quarantine room. 

“This is crazy. Who brought her anyways here?” A Frisk asked. 

**“a monster who didn’t know she was infected. don’t worry about it. i’ll take care of things from here on out.”** He kept a firm hold on Alphys’ soul and yanked her close to him before he shortcut them back to the laboratory into one of the rooms. 

“Let m-me be with my m-master!” Alphys whined. 

**“oh shut up.”** He knew it wasn’t her fault. The room he was in, currently, was fortunately empty, but it didn’t have one of the tubes, he got on an intercom system.

**“all personnel present needs to find a room and shut themselves in for thirty minutes. i’m bringing in an infected. you have 15 minutes to comply or risk becoming infected yourself. all personnel working with the corrupted are to have their souls checked for corruption and wear protection against it. anyone found with corruption will be quarantined.”**

He could hear some of the monsters going around saying how stupid this idea was and they were safe from the corruption. The arrogance was palatable and it didn’t help anyone and it just proved that some were already feeling the effects of the corruption. 

After fifteen minutes he tugged Alphys out of the room with him and walked towards the rooms where he knew there would be an open tube. He then found one and stuck her in. He wasn’t letting the staff get away though without being checked.

“I w-will do things to y-you. I can m-make you f-feel good. Please, l-let me go.” 

**“you can’t even put a fight against me, don’t even think i’m going to consider that kind of thing. it ain’t worth it, besides, you aren’t yourself. i want my friend back.”** He shoved her into a tube and activated it. He then made sure, while the gas was working to tape a note to her tank that read: infected soul do not release under any circumstance without permission

\- The Judge

He then went into the hallway again and looked around to see who was where. He was going to make sure everyone who worked in the facility got checked... whether they liked it or not. So he hit the intercom again.

**“all personnel to the cafeteria, regardless of what you are doing.”**

“Ugh…” Was the audible reply he could hear throughout the halls. _that doesn’t sound good... most don’t usually have the nerve for that._ He headed to the cafeteria and waited. Slowly, monsters made their way into the cafeteria. He waited for every single soul to come, he could be patient when need be. The souls he examined, except for a few, showed some form of corruption. It seemed Chara was right about how infectious this corruption was.

**“i’m going to tell you right now the truth that you all must know. doctor alphys was corrupted, she is in containment right now.”**

“Bitch had it coming!” Said a corrupted Undyne.

**“you’re one to talk because you’re going to be joining her. you’re corrupted too.”** As proof, he grabbed her soul and pulled it out, making an example of her.


	5. Chapter 5

**“you were _all_ warned, but it seemed in your arrogance you did not listen and this is the result.” **

“You g-guys didn’t w-wear the cute charms that Toriel made?” Dr. Mews asked.

**“unfortunately it seems several did not and now, as you all see, they are paying the price. many of you are fine, but if you don’t have a charm, get one now just in case you have to be assigned to the corrupted who are here.”**

“Oh fuck off!” The corrupted Undyne grabbed a nearby utensil and was holding it like a weapon.

**“no thanks.”** He replied, and the other souls that were corrupted were forced to stay still due to blue bones and a blue bone straight into the Undyne, it now held her still. The bones were horizontal through all the souls to keep them from moving on their own.

**“those of you who have charms, raise your hands, i will need your assistance in getting them into containment.”** Only about a handful of scientists had their hand up. One being his friend, Dr. Mews.

“J-judge just t-tell is what you need and we will do it.” 

**“those who don’t have their hands up. go get a charm. you’re stupid for not having one now, but you’re lucky enough to be clean, if you want to stay that way you’ll do as i say.”** A newly corrupted Alphys grabbed another scientist, who was deemed “clean” and held her at knife point. A bone slammed into the Alphys’ soul from behind, it was also blue.

**“you really are an idiot.”**

“W-we are? No, y-you are!” 

“I w-will get the c-charms.” Dr. Mews said, shocked at this behavior.

**“move and you’ll dust yourself. you are not in control here. dr. mews, if you would please just bring the charms here? the rest of you move away from the infected.”** Raps moved towards the one wielding the knife and plucked it from their hand so that the other scientist could move without risking being sliced up. He was careful to keep an eye on all the souls that were moving to the other side of the cafeteria now, searching each for even the slightest hint... 

**“you two.”** He pointed to two who had charms on them.

**“pick one infected and carry them to a containment tube. make sure to mark the tank as infected to ensure that no one opens it accidentally. do this with every tube you put someone in and then ensure the same is done with the other infected tubes. understood?”**

“Yes, one m-moment I n-need to go get them from the d-desk in my o-office.” Dr. Mews nodded as the other two did as they were told. He had the others with charms help them. Making sure that the infected were on one side while the others, who weren’t, stood on the other side. The more time this took, however, the more tired Raps started to feel. This was a strain on him, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he found himself a seat to watch the proceedings to conserve a little bit of magic. He pulled out his phone and flipped through it.... He had a couple monster candies on him... He hoped it would be enough. For each soul that was left on its own, he released the magic on that soul, which was helping a bit.

“H-here…” Dr. Mews came back with a corrupted Chara, who had stabbed Dr. Mews arm plus several other places. In her bloody hand was the charms.

  
  


**“you’re pretty bad off.”** He said to the Chara. He handed Dr. Mews one of the candies he had.

**“you look like you need this.”**

“T-thanks. I w-wish she was okay. S-she is a sweetheart really.” Dr. Mews ate the candy.

**“most of those here used to be.”** He replied with a quiet sigh as he held the Chara captive until she could be sealed off.

“D-do you think t-they can be fixed?”

**“i don’t know. but someone is on it already, besides this team. go hand out the charms now.”**

“Alright, I w-will. Toriel will b-be upset you h-heard that no one h-has been using the charms she and one of the s-scientist here invented.”

**“not her fault and even if gaster had insisted upon it there was still likely to be those who didn’t listen.”**

“True… I s-should go. I h-hope we can cure the i-infection.”

**“as do i. thank you for your service.”** Dr. Mews smiled and started to go around, handing out the charms to those who weren’t infected yet. Raps pulled out the other monster candy he had and popped it into his mouth. He looked at the time. He had about half an hour before the meeting. Lovely.

lilbro: Brother! Did You Find That Alphys? 

broski: yes. she’s in containment. i’m at the lab right now, there were others... i’m handling it, but that means i might be late to the meeting. make sure the others know i’ll be there and what’s up k? 

lilbro: Sure, I Am Sorry I Caused You So Much Trouble.

broski: it’s fine. not your fault half the lab is infected.... or, at least half the team working to cure this. they were warned and they ignored it.

lilbro: Wow… This Is Bad. Should I Get Checked Out Too? Will I Be Okay?

broski: i already checked you earlier tonight. you’re clean. i wouldn’t have had you make supper otherwise. i’ll get you a charm so you don’t have to worry k?

By the time it was done he was still tired. He went over to his friend.

**“do you have an extra charm i can have for a friend?”**

“Y-yes, h-here. I f-found a box of them in the c-closet. One of t-the corrupted was t-tossing the n-new ones in there. A-apparently this h-has been going on for a-awhile.” 

**“i just need one. until things are settled, i’m appointing you as the acting head of this lab, it will be your responsibility to make sure everyone has a charm and that anyone who refuses one is checked. if they are still clean after that, they are not to be allowed to do any work without the charm. if they attempt anything in spite of this you sound the alarm and one of us will come deal with them. this is a serious threat to everyone out there and we cannot allow this to spread.”**

“W-what? A-are you s-sure? I m-mean G-gaster is the h-head s-scientist. T-there has t-to be a b-better choice.” 

**“he’s on probation and i trust you. it’s temporary until a new head can be assigned by hq.”**

“T-thank y-you.”

**“i trust you will do well until the time comes. now that things are settled i’ll be on my way doctor.”**

“Y-yes, I w-won’t let you down!” Dr. Mews was so excited that the moment Raps left she sent a text to Raps.

MewMew: You w-won’t believe what h-happened. I am the t-temporary leader of the l-labs! Wish me l-luck I will need it.

Raps chuckled to himself as he landed in his room.

rappy: you have skill you don’t really need it... but good luck anyway.

He pulled off the robes and put them back into his phone before making his way down to the living room. He flopped down on the couch. He was exhausted.

“Here You Go Brother.” Sans handed him a bag of tortilla chips and some salsa.

“thanks.” He munched on the chips and salsa, but not more than he needed to help boost his magic levels again so he wouldn’t seem like he was about to keel over into a deep sleep.

“heh, what would i do without ya?” He ate the chips as he waited for the others to arrive. He knew that if anyone brought their mate with them to this one it would be Classic, only his kids were old enough to be on their own for any length of time now, but there was always his family to watch them too, the rest either needed help from family or left their mates at home to watch the kid... or kids in some instances. He knew Stretch usually left his kids with his brother if they both were going to show... Error never brought his mate - if he even showed up, Dream usually didn’t come due to his kid being young unless it was important, then he left his kid with Blue’s. Red’s kids were various ages, so Risk usually didn’t come... Smartie didn’t either because Ink’s kid was too young and that was the same with most of the others too who showed up.

“whatsup?” Red said coming in without knocking. 

“your sperm count.” RC said from behind him.

“i heard you were havin’ another.” 

“yeah and when are you planning to have any? do you need me to help there buddy?” 

“fuck no and that’s my news for the evening and why nikki isn’t here.” 

“congrats.” Raps said.

“she got a real monster to get her knocked up?” Red joked. 

“go fuck yourself red.” 

“can we not?” Raps asked.

“cool your jets rc. i am happy for you. just congrats your bro for being the father.” Red said with a smirk.

“already at it eh red?” Stretch asked as he walked in.

“apparently.” Raps replied. A door opened in the living room and Ink joined them, Dream was right behind him with Sugar, apparently the two had been visiting Ink with their child.

“it is typical of that monster. i am glad for you and nikki, rc.”  Raps simply leaned back and listened to the banter as the others showed up. It wasn’t long before Stretch was getting into it with Red, but it was never serious; they were just goofing off. No one ever understood the why behind their banter or how it wasn’t serious, but that was just how those two were.

“so our kid said dream daddy. it is the proudest moment of my life.” Sugar was recounting to the others.

“pff, you sure he wasn’t hitting on one of you?” RC asked, he just couldn’t help it and Red snickered.

“you two really are alike.” Stretch said with a chuckle.

“jealous?” Red said with a smirk.

“pff, hell no.” Stretch remarked.

“i am not that perverted.” RC replied.

“Salsa! For Everyone!”

“hey salsa, how’s it goin’?” RC said when he came in.

“Well, Except For Making A Huge Mistake Good!” The last to arrive seemed to be Classic and Slim.

“why don’t you grab the food bro and we can get this started?” 

“Blue Sent Some Tacos So We Can Have That With The Salsa Wraps.”

“we can, for those who want to eat them with your wraps.” There were two plates of the wraps, the wraps on the red plate were the spicy ones and everyone knew this by now. Only when his brother came back did Raps actually start this meeting.

“so, let’s start at the beginning here. i talked to classic this morning about the corrupted souls briefly because i had talked to dr. chara last night and she said she had a theory that sounded like what dr. alphys had published. i thought that was kind of fishy and went to the labs to investigate. while i was there i talked to gaster first. i made sure to record my conversations.” He played the first one with Gaster.

“so he had no clue?” RC asked. It sounded like Dr. Gaster had no clue.

“yeah, he didn’t know what was going on. so after that i decided i’d talk to dr. chara next. i had my suspicions about the undyne and alphys that she had worked with. i wanted to make sure that i knew who all my suspects were going to be, so i talked to her next.” He tapped his phone and brought up his conversation with Chara. When it ended he leaned back, leaving the phone on the coffee table.

“i suspected that it was plagiarism. that the idea might have been stolen but i couldn’t prove it. so i asked dr. chara if she had a copy of her theory with a date on it. she led me to her office. the moment she opened the door a small popper went off and gave her a face full of peanut powder. she’s highly allergic. if i hadn’t been there she could have choked to death on the stuff. i did what i could to medigate it while she got her epie to combat it. once i made sure she was out of danger i looked for the file in her desk... there was no file, but i got a face full of the same dust, much to my annoyance. i asked for another copy and she pointed it out, at this point she wasn’t in any danger but she couldn’t talk very well so she had to literally point it out. unfortunately her hidden copy was gone too. she indicated she might have a copy at her house when i mentioned it, but there is no guarantee, at that point i ended up calling my brother to take her to the hospital as after i had made sure she was steady enough to not choke i’d also locked down the lab. to make sure no one was able to get in or out, it was clear that was a sign that whoever had taken the file could have also meant to kill dr. chara.” He took a sip of the sweet relish his brother had brought him.

“after all that i talked to dr. mews, asked her what she knew and if anyone else was working on the project, it was just the three of them. so i went to confront dr. alphys about it and i found her muttering to herself and then there was this...” He tapped his phone, bringing up the conversation he’d had with her, which ended with him telling her he had a confession.

“are we talking about the same type of plagiarism like if someone copies a piece of work? who is doing this?” Red asked.

“this is quite bizarre. isn’t this a creator problem?” 

“the code issue is, but the issue of plagiarism is ours. dr. alphys confessed to it and, once she is cured, will need to face up to her crimes. not to mention there’s the whole thing with gaster. he  _ knew _ it was stolen and did nothing. i have him on probation until we decide what should be done with him. stretch, your undyne is currently the one in charge of the laboratory until we settle this matter. we will also need to talk with dr. gaster, foxtrot’s father. we can’t keep him out of the loop since he’s part of our hq. i don’t know if the two have reconciled.”

“care to fill in how that has to do with the corrupted?” Slim asked not putting two and two together.

“dr. chara’s theory on the souls would have been to cure the corrupted. unfortunately dr. alphys was corrupted herself and, as you heard, she changed it. i had to call in foxtrot to back me up on this mission, as i didn’t know how many others could be corrupted. we weren’t able to stop him the first time... that’s when i managed to stop time in our area with a prototype i’ve been working on. it gave me enough time to call nikki into the area. she reversed time and we managed to stop gaster. because what he was working on, with the changes made, would have infected the entire city.... everyone who wasn’t wearing a charm or... like me... they’d have been infected immediately. gaster confessed that he wanted to take credit for it - unaware of the consequences so he allowed it to be taken from chara.” 

“here i thought a red soul decided to load.” Red said. 

“no, nikki did. since one of those corrupted  _ is _ a red soul... it wouldn’t be hard for her to tap into that power, even if she currently hasn’t figured out a cure.” He picked up one of the salsa wraps and began to devour it. His exhaustion waned with the energy from the food and his drink. He suspected his brother had added an extra boost to both likely... He was really glad he didn’t keep his brother in the dark like the others. His brother was a valuable asset and there wasn’t much that could stand up to them both. 

“i thought we weren’t going to not get those two involved.” Red said glancing at RC. He was referring to Aria and Nikki. 

“their power is still can’t be trusted.” 

“considering what was about to happen to our world, do you honestly think i had any sort of choice in the matter? besides, unlike the rest of you i ain’t so mistrustful of the ones who gave me a second chance at life. unless you all just conveniently forgot you owe your livelihoods to at least one of the two if not both.” Rap says evenly before downing the rest of his wrap and then reaching for another. 

“you’ve been pretty silent on things there classic.” 

“well, i am trying to figure out several things. one being is why they are putting corrupted souls here if it is our “paradise”? why is gaster acting so rashly? how to keep my family safe and how long until these two get bored and we end up in our own personal hell?” 

“why not just ask? or are you more afraid of the answers than the questions?” It wasn’t a secret that most of them had Aria’s number, if not Nicole’s.

“ignorance is bliss kid.” Classic said sipping on the ketchup bottle he brought with him.


	6. Chapter 6

“is it? and i’m not a kid. maybe you had hell classic, but you didn’t lose your whole damn world. you still have most of the friends you grew up with. all i have is my brother and a human - who, by the way, has her own life and hasn’t spoken to either of us. we didn’t forget our past, that’s why i opted to not spend my second chance lying to my brother. i decided i’d told enough lies to him in the last life. this world is supposed to be about a second chance to find happiness, i don’t recall her ever saying there wouldn’t be trouble when we took her offer. in fact, the only guarantee she gave me was that if i ever needed her she would come to me if i called her. since, ya know, i didn’t opt to forget the life i had before here like some of you did.” 

“you know raps, we have better things to do then get chewed out.” Slim said crossing his arms.

“they aren’t bad i will admit but i feel they shouldn’t get involved.”

“and yet you’re all still here, look i ain’t sayin’ things are perfect here but ya know what? we’re sittin’ here yappin’ because classic decided it was a good idea to have a sort of council. no one was forced to come here, hell. not  _ all  _ of us are even here. so i figure that it’s a right to speak up and say how i see things as much as anyone else here, but if you lot think you can cure this thing by yourself then be my guest, but i ain’t gonna sit around tryin’ to fix something i know i can’t.” 

“rc can nikki cure this?” Slim asked.

“she said her and aria were havin’ issues due to the unique problems of this corruption.” RC replied. 

“as to why they are here.... i was told it was because this was the safest place. and the least likely to get corrupted in return since we had so many geniuses in a small area.” 

“i can try my hand at trying to figure it out.” Slim suggested.

“anyone else in? more skulls together at this will help.”

“i told nikki she should talk to you. i’m not real good with this sort of problem and according to her, she wasn’t supposed to tell. so i won’t repeat it.” Rap replied.

“we need to come up with a plan. rc do you want to tell classic this news?” Red glanced at RC. He was referring to Nicole possibly expecting. 

“might as well. one of the reasons they’ve been havin’ trouble is my gal is distracted. we’re gonna have a kid.” Classic’s expression didn’t change as if he was thinking about this.

“congrats pal.” Stretch said.

“i’ll second that!” Ink had been quiet for most of it... but that was because he’d been stuffing his face with the food. 

“CONGRATS! I MADE SPECIAL SALSA IN CELEBRATION!!!” It was regular salsa with glitter in it. 

“i’ll have to send some of this to my mate, i’m sure she’ll enjoy it.” RC said, he’d already sent her two wraps.

“When Did You Find Out You Are Expecting? How Many?” RC’s phone buzzed and he opened it up.

A: thanks for the food! 

“just yesterday and we don’t know how many yet. it’s still just a speck of magic.”

“will keep a close eye on them.” Classic said. Slim rolled his eye lights as he didn’t trust any creator.

“why? there’s already one hybrid running around, what are you expecting? a demon?” Rap asked before sipping his relish.

“yes, but not in our world specifically.” 

“have you even  _ met  _ the other hybrid?” Rap asked.

“yes.” Classic said plainly. 

“then stop runnin’ your mouth about it like a human would.” 

“you may be right and i may be wrong but if the roles reverse and i turn out right. one of us should be prepared for the worst.” 

“you know, you spend an awful lot of time with the “but” and “if” that it’s a wonder any child is innocent to you anymore. you spend so much time worryin’ about what is nothing more than a probability that hasn’t even happened or even had hints of happening that it’s a wonder you ain’t dust yet. live for the present for once and let the future take care of itself.” 

“i think raps got some big balls there.” Red said he was impressed that he just stood up against Classic. Red pat Raps’ back. 

“what are you talkin’ about? i don’t have any.” Raps replied, looking at Red, he was genuinely curious as to what the other was talking about. Just like with Aria, Raps didn’t have any fear of Classic.

“oh you are as innocent as inky boy there. soon you will find a girl or guy and then-”

“shut da fuck up.” Sugar said. 

“or maybe it’s not what you think.” Raps replied, his smile was just a little  _ too _ innocent. There was just something there that made it unnerving... like when Blue got honestly mad. Because then Blue was  _ too _ kind.

“so you are a chick?” Sugar asked bluntly.

“cute, but i’m not from  _ that _ kind of swap world sugar. besides, those are called “bend” worlds if i remember right and as far as i know there aren’t any “benders” in this world. yet anyway. seems that so far our female counterparts have it better than we do.” Raps didn’t seem the least bit offended by Sugar’s blunt suggestion. 

“you said this dr. chara got hit by the corrupted soul. we should ask her questions tomorrow.” Classic said interrupting the chain of thoughts.

“no, i said she was set up by one; nearly got her killed. if you wanna question her go ahead.” 

“i will stop by then. she may have more involvement than we know.” Classic replied

“who knows? but she seemed genuine.”

“i still should talk to her and see if we can get more information. i appreciate you calling this meeting.” 

“good luck.”

“how did you meet this chara gal any ways? did you just happen to put two and two together?” RC asked, curious.

“nah, i got bored a few days ago with my bro busy with stuff so I ended up just surfin’ chats when i bumped into her. i don’t think she put two and two together though when we met, she didn’t seem to realize we’d chatted the night before about the project. anyway, i have nothing else ta report.” 

“hmm, well, rash as it might seem to some of those here, i think you acted accordingly. there’s little doubt what would have occurred without your quick thinking and action. thank you raps.” 

“sure dream, no problem. i’m sure most of those here woulda done the same. wouldn’t be the same without ya.” 

“just be careful raps. it seems kinda weird that one day you talk to this chick and the next day you come across all these problems.” Sugar commented. Though he should talk, as he fell for Dream after a heated encounter.

“what can i say? misfortune seems to follow me around.” 

“we will call it a night for now. i have a infant at home who can’t sleep without her bedtime song.” Classic said with a soft smile.

“fair enough, feel free to take some food home with ya for the rest of your family.” Soon enough the remainder of the tacos and wraps were gone. Raps helped his brother clean up the dishes for the evening.

“so... now that they’re gone, what are your thoughts on all this?” He knew his brother usually kept quiet to keep from having the others argue with him, let alone why he was there in the first place. Raps was the first and only to allow his brother to the meetings and had even brought him along the first day - what a shit-fest that had been.

“I Think The Creators Are Given A Bad Reputation And We Should Try To Trust One Another More. Isn’t That What Happened With The Scientists? They Didn’t Listen To That Chara And They Ended Up Getting Corrupted. That Can Be Us Too.”

“yeah, but classic has a real stick up his ass about the creators. aria in particular for some past events he witnessed, even if he didn’t live it. believe me, tryin’ to get him to agree on anything when it comes to one of them is like trying to pick up a mountain with your bare hands... you have better odds with the mountain.” 

“I Want To Go Visit This Chara Before Classic Does. The Doctor Had To Put Her On A Special Machine To Help Her Breathe Better.”

“i’ll visit there myself in the morning, but i don’t know if i’ll beat him there. sounds like my actions to help chara were to keep the worst from happening if that’s true. that’s very worrisome, if they had to do that... she’d have been dead for sure without me... now i feel worse i couldn’t do more to help.” 

“You Are A Hero Brother! She Is Alive Because Of You Too!”

“yeah, but i can’t say i feel like one.“

“Was It Preventable? How Did It Happen?”

“if i had any idea that she was being targeted after i heard that her project was stolen... yeah, it could have been. i could have checked for traps before she opened the door... but ya know what they say... hindsight is 20/20... *sigh* and the others don’t let me forget my mistakes so easy neither. i’ll be hearin’ about this later probably... about what  _ they _ would have done.” 

“You Didn’t Know Though. You Did The Best You Could. Papyrus… You Are The Best Brother I Know. You Treat Me Better Than The Rest. You Would NEVER Purposely Hurt Someone.”

“true, can’t say that about many of them. not even stretch’s brother... he hurt someone once.” 

“I Heard From Blue That Stretch Didn’t Like Nicole That Much At First And Was Mean To Her.”

“yeah, well, despite his lax nature... stretch is an asshole. more so than red, and you never see it coming usually. at least with red you know when you piss him off or when he hates you. same with edge, rough around the edges they may be but them, and rc, and their mates you know where you stand. stretch and classic... not so much. and don’t get me started on dream.” 

“See, You Are A Good Being. Stop Being So Hard On Yourself.”

“yeah.. i guess i don’t have to be, they’re willin’ ta do it enough.” 

“You Should Rest Up. Tomorrow We Will Cheer Up The Maiden!” Sans perked up with a smile.

“remind me tomorrow morning to talk with you after breakfast is cooked, i don’t want ya burning it accidentally... i know how you are about wastin’ food. but there is one thing i haven’t told ya yet and it’s not that i lied so much as that i just haven’t told you.” 

“Eggs And Salsa Is The Best Combo Ever!”

“no argument there. see you in the morning.” 

The next morning, he was up earlier than usual, even before his brother because he knew Classic probably wouldn’t sleep... 

  
  
  


Chara was under observation as the doctors kept her on a ventilator to help her breathe. 

“It was fortunate she was taken in as quick.” The doctor said looking over her patient’s charts. It has been almost 15 hours since she was first dropped off at the hospital. No one came by to give more information on her medical history. 

“She is starting to stabilize but we should keep under observation for at least a day or two.” The doctor told the nurse unaware of the skeleton nearby that came by to question her. Rather, there were two. 

“hey doc.” Raps called out. 

“how’s my pal doin’?” He had snuck up on Classic, which he thought was funny honestly when he saw the other jerk his head towards him. Classic really was too jumpy for his own good, Raps found it hilarious, but he had the sense not to laugh at the other. 

“you need to lay off the caffeine there classic.” 

“yeah… yeah… she is apparently resting. no family came for her last night.”

“since when do charas and frisks have families when their monster companions didn’t come with ‘em?” He muttered. Classic shrugged. Maybe he was getting soft with having kids of his own and felt a twinge of sympathy for her.

“any rate, me and my bro are probably the closest thing she has to family about now.” He walked over to the doctor.

“so why are you here?” Classic asked instead of answering his question. Raps ignored his question because he  _ knew _ why Classic was there.

“doc?” 

“Yes, sorry. I didn’t want to interfere. She is stable if you two want to talk to her you will have to be patient with her. Her peanut allergy caused her throat and her tongue to swell up as well as her face. Right now her swelling has decreased about 85% but there are some residual effects and we want to watch her for at least 24 more hours.” 

“understood, i brought a white board for her actually, i wasn’t sure she’d be up for talking and that would be easier on us all.” Raps replied. He pulled out his phone and pulled out a white board, a small package of erasable markers to use on it and a cloth.

“smart idea. came up with something similar but it might be easier on that than using a tablet back and forth.” Classic commented. Raps shrugged.

“we’ll see what she decides.” The doctor guided them both to Chara’s room and went inside first to check on Chara. After a moment he came back out and nodded for the two to come in. Raps headed inside. Chara was sitting up with an oxygen mask on. 

“hey, got ya something to use so you can communicate without talkin’ thought it might be easier.” She nodded with a slight smile. He set the set into her lap. She took the board and glanced at the two.

“this is a co-worker of mine, his name is classic.” She wrote something on the board before turning it back at them:

What happened? I remember a puff and that is about it. 

“someone wanted you out of the picture, so they doused you with peanut powder. my brother was the one who brought you here.” She glanced at the other skeleton and wrote on the board again:

So detective did you find my copy of the soul thing? That is what you were looking for right?

“no. the last thing you told me was that you might have a copy at home... or indicated it, you couldn’t talk well and the two copies in your office were gone. found the culprit though, they’re currently in a tube. turns out your co-worker, dr. alphys, stole it and published it as her own idea... she also tweaked it under the influence of corruption and nearly blamed dr. gaster for gassing the entire city with a chemical that would have done the complete opposite of curing the corrupted. fortunately we were able to keep that from happening as you could probably tell from watching the doctor when he came in.” She just seemed shocked about the whole idea. 

“what do you remember?” Classic asked to Chara and she began to scribble before erasing and writing something.

“you might need to be more specific.” Raps suggested as she scribbled on the board.

“what do you remember from yesterday?” Chara erased her board and start to write again before showing the results. Raps waited patiently, he meant more specific than  _ that _ but he wasn’t going to tell Classic that. He would let Classic figure it out on his own.

Board: This skeleton monster introduced himself as Papyrus and he was doing some kind of search on my report. I took him to my office and I really don’t remember much more than that.

“did anyone act weird or strange lately?” Chara erased her board and wrote on it:

Not more than usual. The other monsters have been grumpy, some even got out of the department lately just because they have been feeling trapped in the job.

“you said yesterday raps that there were corrupted souls right?” 

“yeah, i had to separate them from the others... one even tried to hold dr. kissy captive with a knife. it wasn’t pretty.” 

“what if it is spreading? with this information that others left that department they might have taken the corruption with them.” 

“she said they left the department, not the lab. not everyone i snagged was necessarily from that department. at least one i recognized was in the tech department. i told dr. mews that if anyone else who worked there refused to be reasonable or take the test that she was to call one of us to deal with whoever.” 


	7. Chapter 7

“i am just covering our bases. i don’t want this spreading around.” Classic commented.

“none of us do, but it’s not like a lot of us can just face this head on. not everyone is immune to it and you’re one of the ones who stands to lose the most if something goes south.” 

“that is why i am so concerned.” 

“it’s also why you shouldn’t answer any calls that come from the lab.” 

“alright. i am trusting you with this case. i won’t be able to help in some ways but i will pull my connections if you need anything. i can keep an eye on the young scientist until she gets better.” 

“maybe not directly, but don’t sell yourself short.” He smirked.

“anyway, let’s hope that support of yours isn’t needed, but it’s appreciated regardless.” 

“i hope so too. if there anything else you can tell raps. he will be taking the lead on this case.” Classic was unsure if he should apologize or what he should say about her current situation. He decided maybe it was best not to say anything at all. He nodded towards Raps before leaving the room and disappearing. Chara took the board and wrote something on it:

Can I have a phone? I don’t have one. I want to go online since I am stuck here.

“sure. i know someone who has an extra they don’t need.” He shot off a text to Stretch, who sent the phone. He then pulled the phone out of his and handed it over to her after putting in his contact info. 

“just in case you need to get a hold of me.” His id was “Rapper.” She smiled and nodded before writing on the board:

It was nice talking to you detective. I hope things go well.

“funny thing about that, i’m not exactly a detective, but i do work like one sometimes. things can’t get much worse honestly. i do have one question for you though before i leave so you can rest more. what were the ingredients for your formula?” She wrote on the board and handed it to him. It was a fairly complicated formula but it basically boiled down to 1 part determination, 1 part kindness, 1 part perseverance, and some magic to help keep it together like a balloon. The soul would absorb the contents after a while and it would heal the corruption. 

“interesting.” He handed the board back and then shot off a text to Nicole about having Aria help her text the mix he just sent on a soul.

“i’ll let you know if it works. i’ve got some friends who can do just that and they’re lookin’ to find a way to cure ‘em like we are. thanks for the info. also, just one last thing to verify, you said you had a copy of your work at your house right? if that’s so then i’d like to get that copy when i can, no rush though.” She nodded and wrote on the board before flipping to show him:

I will bring it to the lab once I feel better. 

“you could just ship it to me too. that phone will do it. just open the inventory, and hit ‘enter’ at what you want to store and you can store pretty much anything you want to its capacity. you can attach things from it too onto texts like one does a photo or a document in email. just don’t go storin’ living things in there. not a great idea.” 

“O-okay…” Chara says in a raspy voice. He smiled a bit.

“see you later.” He walked out of the room, leaving her to rest. He walked into an elevator, it was empty so he shortcut home.

She logged into the chat room as that was the only thing she could do at the moment. Raps had no idea he hadn’t logged out, so an hour later as he was on the computer typing up things he noticed a message indicator pop up.

“eh?” He clicked the window and the chat came up again.

Xtrafunsize: anyone on?

footlaxi: sorry, i thought i signed out last time. heh ^-^; 

Xtrafunsize: It is okay. I had a long day yesterday and today crazy things happened. Was the friend you talked to a Papyrus? That is who came to talk to me yesterday. 

footlaxi: no. figured your mind was a little fuzzy yesterday and you were pretty distracted so you probably didn’t realize.

Xtrafunsize: Didn’t realize what? Do you know what happened at the labs?

footlaxi: yeah, i was there. 

Xtrafunsize:... Oh my god. I really fucked up …

Xtrafunsize has logged out.

“what the heck?” 

All of a sudden Raps could feel his phone vibrate. He picked up the phone and looked at it.

???: I might have figured out who might have took my papers. I been chatting with a monster online and I just found out he was there at the labs. I am so sorry I didn’t know someone was stalking me!

Raps looked at the contact and changed it to drfunsize. 

Rapper: pff... wow, what kind of drugs do they have you on? you left before i could tell ya who i was dr. funsize.

drfunsize: What? How do you know my nickname?

Rapper: because you told me. my chat handle is footlaxi.

There was a long pause before getting a reply.

drfunsize: Oh. I thought for sure this online guy stole my stuff and plotted to kill me.

Rapper: no, that was alphys under the influence of the corruption. she pretty much gave me a confession when i confronted her after you were taken to the hospital.

drfunsize: I see. I am sorry I just logged off. It hasn’t been a pleasant experience these last two days.

Rapper: nah, it’s fine. i get it.

drfunsize: someone tried to kill you and steal your live’s work too?

Chara didn’t mean to sound harsh but she wasn’t feeling the best either. 

Rapper: more like someone tried to kill me and everyone i knew and then destroyed my world. so... sort of the same deal. only thing i left with was my brother and a human i haven’t spoken to since i got here.

drfunsize: That sucks. Sorry, I didn’t mean to come off as a bitch. I am just not a fan of clinics or hospital or sitting around doing nothing. 

Rapper: don’t blame ya, i’m kind of a busybody myself. always doin’ something... 

What he didn’t tell her was that between posts he was recreating her work from the document that Dr. Alphys had created and what she had told him about the ingredients. It was only a rough draft though. 

drfunsize: Well this is awkward. I am sorry I didn’t remember you telling me you were you.

Chara didn’t know if this was wise telling this guy all this information. It seemed like there was too many coincidences for her liking.

  
  


Rapper: that’s because i didn’t. i didn’t tell you yesterday i just told you today

drfunsize: I am trying to figure out if you have any part of this craziness. I am trying to decide if I should trust you or not because I have been betrayed before.

Rapper: depends on your opinion on authority i guess. 

drfunsize: It is the fact that all this craziness happened when you showed up. Do you have something to do with it?

drfunsize: Sorry, I have some trust issues. I was a scientist in my last world too. Asriel had a grand idea and well I ended up getting killed. 

Rapper: understandable, my frisk has that same issue. 

drfunsize: I see so you are dating a Frisk? 

Rapper: no. uh ... that’s... complicated. see... when we got sent here... chara’s soul was in bad shape... so in order to keep them from dying, frisk infused what was left of their soul to chara... so now they’re technically one human. 

drfunsize: That does sound complicated. How are they holding up?

Rapper: wish i knew. i haven’t heard from them since we got here. well, her anyway... i think. 

drfunsize: I would try to reach out to them. I miss my family myself.

Rapper: good luck. 

drfunsize: I mean you should reach out to your Frisk. 

Rapper: if i knew where they were, i would attempt something. 

drfunsize: Hopefully you can. I should get to sleep. 

Rapper: sounds good, but if you wanna chat again we can.

drfunsize: Will you come by tomorrow?

Rapper: i can try and find some time to. no promises. sweet dreams.

_speaking of actually..._

He thought and shot off a text to Dream, he didn’t think the other would mind.

Raps: if ya have some time, maybe you can help a friend of mine have a good rest.

Dream: If I can. Who is it?

Raps: dr. chara.

Dream: I’ll see what I can do.

Raps: thanks.

  
  


Chara was having a dream about her in the labs. It was fairly plain but it started to turn sour as peanuts fell from the ceiling, causing her to swell up like a balloon. It didn’t last long before it was swept aside like dust.

“W-what is happening?” Chara asked looking around as she return to her normal state.

“Hello.” A skeleton in gold robes moved forward.

“Hi, who are you?” Before he could answer, another voice spoke up.

“Brother, you ruined my snack.” The other skeleton was dressed in a deep purple tunic and black slacks.

“My apologies, but I was asked to come here.” 

“I see. Well, I’ll find somewhere else to be then.” 

“Uhh… w-what is going o-on?” 

“We’re dream keepers.” The skeleton in purple replied.

“I am Nightmare.” 

“I am Dream.” 

“Why did you consider my bad dreams a snack? That is a bad thing… this is all a dream. You two aren’t real right?” Nightmare chuckled.

“We’re very much real.” Dream replied.

“I live off of negative energy, thus bad dreams are fuel for me, while my brother is sustained off of good energy. I believe this dreamer is out of the loop of what happened five years ago, no?”

“A new arrival, perhaps.” Dream agreed. 

“I haven’t been here very long. It has been a long day yesterday.” 

“So I heard.” 

“You have? Or did you see in my dreams what happened?” Chara was genuinely confused.

“No, I spoke with your friend, Raps earlier.” 

“I’m not sticking around for this, I’ll see you later brother.” Nightmare waved and left. 

“Oh? You found me that way? I am surprised he didn’t try to find his Frisk this way too.”

“You mean the human amalgamation?” Dream asked. 

“Huh? Rapper mentioned they had to fuse together with Frisk to survive but has not seen them since they came here. Are they around?” 

“Hope isn’t anywhere near where Raps and his brother live. She became a doctor in a different sector.” 

“Hope? Is there a way to contact her or him?” 

“Her, and I can relay a message but I wager there might be a reason why she skipped town. Nothing I’m aware of though, she and I became friends on a dating website about five years ago and we’ve kept in touch.”

“Oh, I guess I just wanted to talk to her for a bit or I dunno. I am sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong again.”

“I can arrange that if you like.” 

“I should ask Raps if he wants to talk to her. He would get the most out of it not me.” 

“Perhaps, but he kinda has a lot to deal with and that could be why he hasn’t... or maybe there’s some other reason I don’t know. I don’t know a lot about him. Even if I was there to greet him when he came through.” 

“Me neither to be honest. I am not quite sure what to make of him. He shows up and all this craziness happens to me.” 

“yeah... he’s kinda gutsy. he isn’t shy about sayin’ what’s on his mind either, he lectured classic like a kid at the last meetin’... something most of us wouldn’t have the gal to do.” 

“Classic? Another version of Sans or Papyrus?” 

“The very first Sans actually, hence the nickname. He’s also the strongest one there is.” 

“Ahh… well that was foolish of him.” 

“Most might think that, but Classic didn’t really do anything to him... so, I think there’s something to it between the two since most of us wouldn’t even consider confronting him. For good reason of course, he’s not the most temperamental of us... but, he is the most judgmental when it comes to... anything really.” 

“I see. I can understand that. If he is the first I guess he might be a little paranoid and almost responsible for all of you.” 

“Paranoid is putting it lightly, and it’s not so much the responsibility really, since we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Strong as he is, even Classic couldn’t really match my brother in combat just because he didn’t have the right magic to deal with it... so even he’s not really infallible; most of our strengths are circumstantial really, one of the reasons the city that makes up our world is in sectors. The only ones who don’t really have a sector to watch over are me, my brother, Ink and Error. All the others have one.” 

“I guess some beings don’t like having no control.” Chara said after a moment thinking.

“I can understand that. I am used to not being heard.” 

“We have something in common then.” 

“You are never heard?”

“Considering five years ago, when everyone expected me to face my brother and I was half dead about a week before the fight.... Yeah, I can’t say I was heard.” 

“I guess we do have something in common except someone was trying to kill me on top of it. Still not being heard?” 

“Well, my brother would have killed me at the time, so we sort of have that in common, technically. They at least pretend to listen when my mate is around, but I can’t say I trust they really do.” 

“It sounds like at least somebody does. I haven’t had time for dating personally since… well my ex.” 

“I haven’t either... in fact, we really didn’t actually date except once before we were mates. It was... not a planned connection. Like you, Sugar wasn’t one who was heard much, he’s a good listener though.” 

“That sounds complicated. Was it an arranged marriage?” 

“Nope. It was sort of a whirlwind romance during a heat.” 

“Ahh… still with you?” 

“Expecting our second child in another six months. Despite the outward opinion that we would not even get along... we actually mesh very well. What’s that human saying... something about opposites attracting or something like that? Except, that I’m not entirely his opposite. Most just think I am due to our different ways of expressing ourselves. In fact, funnily enough, he told me he almost hated me the first night we met. Heh.” 

“Really? So why did he decide to like you?”

“He didn’t like my best friend and brother from another world, Blue. He told me that it was because Blue was “too happy” sort of. It was because of Blue we ended up together. As for why he ended up liking me... well, he actually listened to what I had to say when I told him what was going on. Because no one really listened to him I told him things I could never have trusted the others with... not even Blue.”

“T-that sounds nice… my ex told me I wasn’t badass enough and was too … shy to do anything.” 

“Their loss. Not to mention I doubt your ex even really knows what that term means. It’s not always a good thing you know. I’ve been around long enough to see both sides of that coin. One side is great... the other... you want to avoid like the plague.”

“Which side am I on? I feel today I am on the bad side.” 


	8. Chapter 8

“I wouldn’t use that term to describe you honestly. You’re too pure to fit either sense of the term. It’s not a bad thing though. You’ve been through a very rough patch and I don’t blame you. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t at some point in their life either been killed or had to deal with attempts to be killed. It’s starting to be a sort of pattern in this world, honestly.” 

“I think you are right. I did some horrible things in the last world.” 

“I’ve done some... research, you might call it, into the backgrounds of most of those who live here. Over half the population - those who remember their past lives, have either done something horrible or been through it in almost every sense of the word.” 

“So you know about my genocide runs. All to find the key to escape but to end up finding out that Asriel wanted to use me to strengthen my soul and absorbed it.” 

“Well... I do now. You, Raps, Hope and Salsa are the newest of the arrivals here. I don’t know that much about you. The only one who knows everything isn’t even living in this world.”

“You mean Aria. She saved me.” 

“Everyone who’s been brought here from another world is a rescue of some kind, she has been accumulating us from all the timelines and such that she can find... and, well, with as big as our city is... you can see she knows a _lot_ of timelines and worlds that need the kind of security and lives that this world offers. It’s not perfect, but... at least we are out of the reach of those who would abandon us, who would use us like puppets.” 

“Yeah, I am glad to be free of Asriel. Frisk tried to save me but it was … hard.” 

“If you don’t mind me asking, where did you come from? I’m from a dead world called Dreamtale. Our Creator abandoned us in favor of rewriting us as something we were not.” 

“My world didn’t quite have a special name but it was a science world and our creator thought it would be unique to switch things up. It was inspired by this one tale.” 

“You wouldn’t happen to be from Sci’s world would you?” 

“Not quite but it was inspired by it. Sci’s world I come to understand is about a rogue Frisk who is now contained in our labs.” 

“An alternate timeline then, where things are similar, but not the same. I can never remember the name of Sci’s world... it’s some big name... that’s all I recall.” 

“It is different. I spoke to some of the residents and they heard about it.” 

“I’m sure Aria knows its name, she did bring you here after all, she’d have to know at least something to find you.” 

“Maybe so… she did rescue the Frisk from Sci’s world. I feel sorry for her. Maybe it is because I feel like I was just like her.” 

“It only makes sense she knows, otherwise it’d be rather difficult to find someone.” 

“That makes sense but she is just one being. She can’t possibly help everyone. Is that why she wanted help with the corrupted souls?”

“The answer to that is not mine to give. Should you want an answer to that you will have to ask her yourself.” 

“I will. Is your brother usually causing nightmares for the fun of it?” Dream shook his head.

“As I said before, he needs negativity to live. Just like humans eat food. Energy, positive and negative respectively, keep me and my brother alive. We can eat food, but we do not need it; rather we require the two energies to sustain us. He is not being mean, he merely needs to eat. It is, in a way, like a hawk that eats a rabbit. The hawk is not mean to the rabbit, it is simply hungry and must eat.” 

“I think I understand. Does he have children like you?”

“Indeed he does, my niece, however, is more like her mother than my brother. She is mostly human and does not share his power over dreams. I do not think our powers can be passed on to heirs... but I would have to ask mother about it to be certain.” 

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Won’t someone have to take over your job one day because you know… everyone has a due date you know what I mean?” 

“Well, before we had mates... my brother and I were - in a way - immortal. Not that in the sense that we couldn’t be killed, just that it would take an awful lot of power to do so... and we’re immune to anything that most monsters and other living things could possibly catch to cause them to die. My brother and I were born as mother’s keepers, to protect her apples... but now that we have mates ... provided we soulbond, then we do have a finite amount of time. I do not actually know the answer to your question as I have not asked myself. Only mother would know.” 

“Unless your powers transfer over to your mate as well. As we learned that soulbonded is a give and take.” 

“It is, but I don’t think my powers work like that. Plus I do not think my mate or his really want to be immortal. There is no definite answer that I am aware of. I will have to speak with mother on the matter. I hadn’t thought of it before honestly.” 

“I wouldn’t worry about it. Somethings you shouldn’t worry about.”

“Well, I think it’s something to keep in mind. Not worry over, but still it would be good to know.” 

“I hope it is good news. I barely know you but you seem nice enough.” 

“Thanks. You too.” 

“Is Sugar a Frisk or a Chara?” 

“Heh, neither. Sugar’s a bitty. Bein’ that small really changes perspectives too. I’ve had a lot of tiny adventures since I met him.” 

“Wait, so is the kid small or normal size?” 

“Pff, our son is normal size. Thanks to a friend, the two of us can change our sizes as we like. He was born at my size though as Sugar didn’t want to risk anything happening and didn’t actually allow the boy anywhere near the amulet until he was sure there would be no adverse affects. So... our son was three years old when he first saw mother and our house next to her. He’s five now, he loves running around and giving us a workout, regardless of size and we keep the amulet with one of us so he doesn’t just randomly shrink and we lose sight of him.” 

“Why couldn’t he meet your mother until a few years ago? Is she that old or is she finicky around kids?” 

“I didn’t say he hadn’t met her, he just hadn’t been to the small home near her.” 

“Oh? So it is because … I am drawing a blank.” 

“It’s because the smaller house is literally the size of a dollhouse. Well, smaller than your average actually and Aria made it to be next to mom’s roots so that I can talk to her if I want or need to.” 

“Mom’s roots?” 

“Well yeah, unlike most, my brother and I were born from the tree of life.” Chara gave him a confused look.

“A what? Did I hear you right? A tree gave birth to a skeleton?” 

“She gave us both life. As I said before, we were born to be her keepers. It was our home’s lack of respect for my brother and how he kept the balance that changed things and set off a chain of events that led us to where we are now. That’s the short version of our story anyway.” Dream, by this time, had sat down cross-legged where he was as they continued to talk.

“That had to be hard.” 

“It was and thus what I meant about not being heard... not to mention not understood. The group thinks they understand what I went through, but the only one who ever came close was Blue, because he was without his brother for some time, but even he couldn’t fully understand things.” 

“I can’t say I can relate because I imagine being it was your brother it has to be so much harder on you.” He only nodded in response before speaking up a moment later.

“I think they tried to relate and just... couldn’t.” 

“I know others try to relate to my problems when they couldn’t possibly could without going through the exact same thing. I know it is arrogant to say that but…*sigh* sorry, I didn’t mean to rant there.” 

“No, it’s fine.” 

“You said Raps requested you for me? Why?” Dream shrugged.

“That is just odd but I guess. I don’t know him well enough for him to feel anything for me. Thank you for interfering with the nightmare I appreciate it just the same.”

“Sure and who knows? That guys is still a mystery to me, maybe he figures you as a friend?” Dream shrugged again. It was beyond him to understand the other monster.

“Maybe… I will let you go. You probably aren’t getting too much energy from me?”

“Heh, I don’t get energy from dreams, but it is my job to protect others. Don’t worry too much. I’ve enjoyed talking with you.” 

  
  


The next day Chara was released and she went back to work. The doors had warning signs about the souls and the new procedures. She sighed as she tried to warn them over and over again but this was the end result.

Rapper: how are things? hope i’m not interruptin’ anything.

drfunsize: Not really. I am just trying to adjust to the new work format. I see most of my co-workers are gone.

Rapper: that’s a shame, but it wasn’t like they didn’t know.

Chara debated about asking but decided to go for it.

drfunsize: Ummm… ever heard of Dream? Or was that all just a Dream?

Rapper: yeah, i know the guy. he’s a co-worker of mine.

drfunsize: So I didn’t make it all up. We talked about a couple of things, one being your Frisk who goes by Hope now.

Rapper: i see. i can understand why you might have thought that in the beginning.

drfunsize: You are not surprised I found out about your Frisk’s name? Or did you already know her name?

Rapper: i’m just not surprised. dream is kinda known for having info. 

drfunsize: What is stopping you from reaching out to her?

There was a long pause.

Rapper: picked up on that huh?

drfunsize: I am just guessing if you had the means to reach out to someone through a skeleton who can find me in my dreams. I figured there was some reason you didn’t reach out to her. 

Chara was making her rounds and was surprised to see Alphys in a tube. 

Rapper: you’re not wrong.

drfunsize: We don’t know each other very well so you don’t need to answer why you don’t want to meet or contact Hope. I know the Royals and several members from my Undertale refuse to even let me talk to them. 

Rapper: some things are just better left in the past.

drfunsize: I see… well in other news I see Alphys is in one of the tubes. Several of my coworkers are.

Rapper: yeah... i put her there myself.

drfunsize: I see… 

Gaster came over in his disfigured situation and ripped the phone away from her.

Rapper: hope gaster isn’t giving you a hard time... because he knows what will happen if he does. he’s supposed to be there on guard duty. 

Rapper had changed the subject.

“Give my phone back!” Chara yelled at Gaster. While Chara was dealing with Gaster, apparently neither of them had noticed that the room had gone fairly quiet... save for the two of them.

*You *fart sound* snitch. You just couldn’t let me have that one thing! You pathetic *fart sound* of an intern.

“Wha-? What are you talking about?”

*You and your stupid thesis! 

“What about my thesis?” There was the quiet scratching of a pen in the silence.

“doctor chara.” A calm voice broke into the conversation.

“Uhhh… h-hello?”

“it’s a pleasure to meet you. i’m comic sans, but most call me sans or classic. i’m one of the division heads for the monster science society.” Well that explained why the rest of the room had gone silent... seems everyone else knew him on sight. 

“I kind of remember you from the c-”

*Sir, why are you here? You should be home with the family.

Gaster was buttering up the boss as one does when they are in deep shit.

“i should be, but instead i’m here doing damage control because someone got in over their head. now i believe i was talking to doctor chara.” Sans replied curtly then turned back to Chara.

“you were saying?” 

“I w-was saying that I r-remember from the hospital. You v-visited with Raps.” 

“fair enough, i did. though we didn’t get a chance to talk on a professional level exactly. that was something else.” 

*Sir, she is the one that made the instructions I just followed them.

“no you did not.” He replied. 

“doctor chara, in your opinion, what would you do with an intern who seemed to think too much of themselves and, like a child, decided to do everything to make their senior’s life crap because of something they do not like that was no fault of said senior?” 

“Uhh… I d-d-don’t k-know?” 

*Oh *fart sound* off Chara. You can’t handle anything you are given. You should be glad I even wanted to apply that *fart sound* to a theory. 

“be silent child.” Sans retorts.

“i will not ask again.” He then turned back to Chara.

“well, perhaps dr. mews can help you figure it out or you can figure out as you go. we all have to learn some time.” 

“Yes s-sir. T-though I d-don’t think I s-should make the d-decision.” Chara admitted as she tried to ignore the angry glares from Gaster. 

“i read your thesis, sort of. the original mind you as it seems a friend of yours re-created it for me.” 

*You mean my thesis!

“W-what how?” There was a momentary pause before she continued.

“He made it? It is too soon. I still needed to do more tests and … did it work?” 

*Of course my formula w-

Classic hit Gaster over the head with a bone.

“there gaster, i tossed you a bone.”

“YOUR …” Chara pursed her lips and went quiet. She didn’t want to do something that would cause problems for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The Sci Dream is referring to is actually not the one everyone knows from CPAU and other such known comics. The one Dream is talking about comes from a world that isn't well-known. (and whose name currently hasn't been revealed, which is why Dream has the excuse of not remembering)
> 
> Whereas the Sci Chara is referring to actually is. 
> 
> Fact: Sci doesn't have a separate universe, he's actually just an alternate timeline version of Classic who became/stayed a scientist in his timeline. This fact isn't often mentioned when Sci makes his appearance.


	9. Chapter 9

“if you mean by work that a creator _and_ a judge was needed to make sure the entire world didn’t just suddenly become evil and dust dream.... yeah, sure. also, in response to your question doctor, i was given the _original_ thesis... or as close as it could be - according to him - by raps.” 

“Did it work?”

“dunno, it hasn’t been tested yet, however, the tests will fall to you. it is your thesis after all. given the priority on the matter, if you need anything you’ll be able to obtain it and you have lead on this. everyone else will be assisting... provided that they aren’t interns.” 

“O-on me?”

*PFFFFFTTTTTT…Oh… I can’t wait to see how that goes. You know her history don’t you? 

“and i know yours. be thankful you’ve been reduced to errand boy rather than being banned completely from the science community for your little ‘stunt’ to play hero. everything you had before has been revoked until you can prove you’re worthy to be trusted with it again.” He turned from Gaster to look at Chara again.

“i know you’re more than capable of seeing this thing through, regardless of how long it takes to find a cure.” 

“I c-can t-try.”

“trying is how success is made.” 

“May I make a request to have a partner in this?”

*Ahhh I see she has finally found some sense and will pick the proper leader to help with this project. 

“sure, pick anyone you believe will be beneficial.” He then turned to Gaster.

“one more word gaster you’ll be cleaning toilets for a month.” 

“Since Raps seems knowledgeable and I thin-” Gaster made a gesture that made Chara pause as he smashed Chara’s phone on the ground and walked away. Sans glared at the other.

“well, guess that’s coming out of his check. anyway, if raps agrees by all means. you can borrow my phone for today and ask him.” He handed over his phone. 

“No, it is fine. Just text him yourself. I don’t want to accidentally do something to your phone and break it.” 

“relax, you won’t break it. it is a phone, not a piece of glass and i don’t think you plan to just smash it like he did.” Chara shook her head and took the phone when a text from Classical came in.

Chara didn’t open but offered the phone back briefly. It was just a photo of the baby being held by the eldest child. 

Classical: Thought you wanted to know that she is reading that bedtime story you read to Paps to him. I didn’t realize she memorized the story. 

“heh, i’ll reply to her later, no worries. she knows i’m at work.” 

“I will just close the message. It is not my business.” Chara closed it trying not to see what it was. 

“you really are overly cautious aren’t ya? the message wasn’t exactly personal, so i’m not worried.”

“I guess… do you really know my past?” 

“yeah. i talk to aria regularly. i make it my business to know about new arrivals.” 

“Then you know what I did to all those souls.” 

“not any different than what my mate did.” 

“Y-your mate?” 

“mmhmm. put me and the others through genocide more times than i care to think on, but my point here is that it was the past. we all came here to start new lives, meaning having new beginnings. so while i know about things to just know who to keep an eye on if they seem troublesome... i ain’t gonna hold it against ya. it was the one rule aria gave to the first ones who came here, that includes the judges. she insisted that everyone was to be welcomed into the world like an infant, that the past was the past and that only those who caused trouble here should be held accountable for any trouble at all.” 

“T-that sounds nice… too bad my underground doesn’t feel that way. They see me as the one who caused so many problems.” 

“well, kiddo, that’s their problem isn’t it? you haven’t done anything to warrant distrust or anything and your soul was in the right place despite what was goin’ on. intent means a lot in magic.” 

“I was told it would help everyone. I ended up being used.”

“you wouldn’t be the first and probably not the last.” 

“Probably not. How will I be able to return your phone to you? I can run to the local cell phone company and grab a new one in about 30-45 minutes.” 

“yeah, but the one who broke it is gonna pay for it, so we can just go together, that way i can make sure it’s charged the right account. only fair. after all, policy only covers scientific experiments as not coming out of the paycheck if something goes wrong. that cellphone was a personal item.” 

“Alright sounds fair. Do you mind if I text Raps from your phone then?”

“nah, go ahead.” Chara looked through the contacts and found Raps with a bad photo of him with his favorite condiment, sweet relish in his hands. She smiled and began to text him.

Classic: Hey this is Chara … Dr. Chara. My phone met an unfortunate end and so I am borrowing Classic’s phone. I was wondering if you are up to it. Will you be my lab partner? Sans and I are heading to the one cellphone place you know the one Fishy Electronics. 

Raps: depends on what the project is. i don’t do a lot of hands on work anymore for a reason.

sorry to hear about tha phone

Classic: The corruption project but if you don’t want to do it. That is fine. I will be okay. 

Raps: can i at least think about it? i’ll at least know by tomorrow, if that’s okay.

Classic: Okay. That is fine.

Raps: great. you’ll have to text me your new number when you get a replacement.

Classic: Yeah sure.

Chara sighed a bit and handed back the phone to Classic.

“Thank you for letting me borrow the phone.” 

“sure, ya seem a bit... disappointed?” 

“I was hoping that my new friend would help with this project but I guess he isn’t sure if he wants to be part of it or not. I am not going to make him if he doesn’t want to do it.” 

“well, he’s got some personal issues. that’s why he’s not a scientist anymore. in fact, it’s kinda true for most of the heads of the science division. we won’t do certain hands on work anymore due to things that we’ve done... had done to us... or ... just other reasons in general that apply to science. there’s a reason there aren’t many gasters around here. a _very_ good reason.” 

“I can understand that. I want to get to know him but it feels like he doesn’t want to let me in. I guess all friendships are like that. Walk before you run and shit like that.” 

“usually, but then again you haven’t exactly had time yet to actually have personal time. between his job and you bein’ in the hospital and this project... eh, who knows? hopefully you’ll get that time together so you can build that friendship of yours. in the meantime, let’s go get you that phone.” 

“Yes, sounds like a plan. Can I ask a personal question?”

“sure, but can’t guarantee an answer you’ll like.” 

“Heard of Hope?” Chara wasn’t sure if he would answer or even know who she is and her relationship with Raps was. 

“well, depends on what you mean. do you mean a person or the acronym?” 

“The person.” 

“i’ve heard of ‘em, haven’t met ‘em.” 

“I was curious about her is all. I swear all I do is ask questions.” 

“unfortunately you’re askin’ the wrong monster. only one i know who’s met her is dream.” 

“He didn’t tell me much. Nor would Raps. I think it is a wait and see type of situation.” 

“raps is one of those open and shut books.... he wears his soul on his sleeve most times, but when it comes to her... he’s as closed as fort knox. i really can’t blame him honestly, but that isn’t mine to tell.” 

“I see. She must have caused some deep wounds for that to happen.” 

“not for me to say, but there is one other you might consider talkin’ to. if you can get a hold of her. nowadays i’ve been havin’ trouble gettin’ her to respond to me, but she knows pretty much everything.” 

“I guess I haven’t even thought about going right to the source itself.” 

“close enough to. let’s get you that phone and i’ll give you numbers and you can try and reach her. no guarantees though.” He followed her out of the lab to the store. The store was of course a mixture of sports equipment and high tech gadgets. Chara kept it simple as she picked the cheapest phone because she didn’t want to cause any problems.

“Here this will work.” 

“eh, i think that thing needs an upgrade. you need at least a phone that won’t crack if you try ta break it.” He pointed to a model a couple phones down. It wasn't the most expensive thing there, but it was a little more expensive than the one she’d been looking at. It was a simple looking touch screen that had password protection, an inventory box and the capacity to stream, as well as play, videos, a decent camera, good memory and pretty much everything a person could want without it costing an arm and a leg, so to speak.

“P-perfect c-choice S-sans. It is g-good to s-see you again.” Alphys smiled. It had been too long since the two classic characters saw each other.

“eh?” He turned to see who had talked and he smiled.

“hey al. been a while. al, this is doctor chara. chara, this is alphys, from my world. how’s undyne and the little one?” 

“W-we are doing g-good. We s-still want a play date s-soon with the k-kids.” 

“how about next week? frisk has been wantin' to see her nephew.” 

“S-sounds perfect.”

“i’ll let her know and you two can figure out the details.” 

“I s-still can’t w-wrap my head how you and h-her-” There was a pause before Alphys looked at Sans with a bit of confusion.

“we had some help. lots of it honestly. i don’t know the details of it, only what had to be done.” He turned to Chara.

“anyway, do you want a model like this one or somethin’ different? i’m sure they have it in any color you could want too.” 

“G-get the M-mew Special E-edition One! It h-has all the e-episodes of the b-best anime of a-all time!” Alphys said with such excitement.

“I guess I will get that one.” Chara said and the Undyne who was running the store brought over the special edition one with a phone case already on it. The case had all the anime characters posing around the main character in the middle doing the peace symbol. 

“I-isn’t that a-amazing. Oh l-look at t-this one!” Alphys dragged Chara to a new phone and then another phone soon enough both Classic and her were looking at each and every phone in the building. Classic gave Alphys a patient smile as she dragged them to each phone, babbling about what made each and every one of them so special.

  
  


At the house, Raps flopped onto the couch. What a day. Nothing had really happened, beyond finishing that thesis in the early morning hours for Classic. So he wasn’t sure why he felt so tired today. He yawned and settled down for a nap. Except that said nap wasn’t really happening, because his non-existent brain was nagging at him. Reasons why he should accept Chara’s offer, reasons why he should decline and just... yeah. So of course he wasn’t asleep when his brother came home. He just hoped the other wasn’t going to nag him again about the lack of dancing... he just was not in the mood to hear it. His brother worked at that studio across the street and was constantly trying to get him to go and join him, or at least try after class but he refused.

  
  


It was late that evening when Raps got a text from Chara. It took 5 hours… to pick a phone. Chara was willing to go with any phone but Alphys was determined that she got the best of the best and boy Gaster was going to be furious when he got the bill. Still it was a very nice phone with a battery life for a week at a time. 

????: Hi… I am so exhausted but I am sitting at Grillby’s. 

Raps: hi exhausted. i’m tired. nice ta meet ya.

????: Nice to meet you tired. X3

Raps smiled faintly as he saw the text, it was followed by the front door. His brother was finally home it seemed. He was too tired to change the name so he just randomly typed in something. Turned out what he put in was Charadoll.

Charadoll: Care to meet me at the ice cream place or 

Chara deleted that as she felt that was dumb thing to send.

Charadoll: So, you okay? I didn’t push any buttons earlier did I?

Raps: nah, heh, bet you can’t guess where i got my nickname from.

Raps yawned as his brother came into the room.

Chara smirked as she made her way out of Grillby’s to go sit on a bench.

Charadoll: Hmm… Rapping on doors?

“hey bro.” He muttered.

“Brother! You Should Have Been There! It Was A Great Session!” 

“oh?”

“I Think Tomorrow You Should Come With!”

“eh, i dunno. i might be elsewhere tomorrow.” He sat up and looked at his brother, despite his exhaustion, the seriousness was there.

“our new friend asked me if i’d be her lab partner. to help her with the souls project. i don’t know what to tell her. i said i’d think about it.” He didn’t need to explain to his brother why. Aside from Classic, his brother was the only one who knew what went on in those labs... and why he didn’t want to go into another laboratory. The guilt was just there, but at the same time, it was the past... wasn’t it?

“You Should Say No! You Deserve To Be Happy. This Is Only Going To Make You Feel Awful.” 

“i dunno... i feel like everyone is tryin’ to rope me into gettin’ back there. even classic didn’t tell her not to... hell, she used his phone cuz something happened to hers.... i feel like if i say no... then i’ll be missing out on something but at the same time... i’m afraid to say yes too. i don’t feel like i deserve to really be back there after everything. even if we left that life behind.” 

“Instead Of Doing That Lab Thing. Why Don’t You Just Ask To Hang Out With Her. You Can Just Be Friends And Give Her Advice If She Needs It. She Sounds Like A Smart Being So She Will Understand.” 

“i hope so... she’s a bit too curious though. i heard from classic and dream that she’s been askin’ about hope. our saving grace there is that he doesn’t divulge the past to others who aren’t involved.” 

“Neither Of Us Are… Without Sin Paps.” 


	10. Chapter 10

“yeah... i know, we’re both to blame about what happened, but at the same time... i dunno. it’s just days like today where i feel we’ll never live it down... even if the others don’t judge us for it or anything. i feel like they should... but they just... don’t.” 

“I Won’t Because I Know Deep Down What We Did Was What We Thought Was Right.” 

“yeah, but the ends don’t justify the means.” He sighed.

“i’ll have to figure out a way to tell her no without makin’ her feel like she did somethin’ wrong. she kinda seems like one of those types.”

“I Think You Should Be Honest And Say You Started A New Life Here And You Want To Avoid The Labs And Be A Great Dancer Like Me!” 

“pff, bro, i think she’s see through that last part.” 

“I Am A Great Salsa Dancer! I Can Dance On Salsa And Do The Salsa.”

“i meant the whole wanting to be like you.” 

“Everyone Wants To Be Like Me. Wait… Are You Saying There Are Beings Who DON’T Want To Be Like Me?”

“we both know i haven’t danced in a long time.” Well, that wasn’t entirely true... but still.

“There Is A First For Everything. You Will Never Know Until You Try.”

“you know why i won’t. the injury keeps me from doin’ what i used to. the drive just isn’t there anymore.” It was more the latter than the former really, since the injury had healed and while the limb was weak it didn’t hinder him as much as he said it did.

“I Still Wish You Would Try.”

Charadoll: Fell asleep? The night is kinda pretty tonight. 

The vibration of his phone caught his attention.

Raps: sorry, bro came in. we’ve been talking. hmm, speaking of... i almost forgot something. thanks for the reminder.

Charadoll: Sure, I am glad to help in whatever it is that I reminded you of.

Raps set his alarm on his phone, he had the tone down so that it wouldn’t wake his brother later.

“i think i’m going to call it a night.” 

“Take Care My Brother. I Am Sorry I Get A Little Pushy Sometimes But It Is Only Because I Know You Can Be So Great And Amazing.” 

“it’s fine. i know you mean well, i know you only do it cuz ya care.” He got up and hugged his brother before he headed off to bed. Chara didn’t understand why he didn’t respond really to her texts but she just shrugged and put away her phone and relaxed there and just enjoyed the scenery. 

  
  
  


10:59 PM

  
  


11: 00 PM

The alarm went off and he turned it off. He got up and changed into a clean hoodie and grey slacks, pulled on his shoes, tied them and then shortcut to the park. He saw the texts, but with what time it was, he didn’t want to bother her. He’d text her tomorrow. Raps waited in the shadows of the evening for his friend on the far side of the park, where the trees were.

“hey, on time.” Foxtrot said with a smirk.

“almost missed it, kinda got sidetracked today, but we didn’t come here to talk shop.”

“are you sure?”

“brought up bad memories. i’d rather forget thanks. i came here to escape that life, not hang myself with it.” 

“no shame in that. this place is supposed to be our second life.”

“yeah, you got the songs tonight or was it my turn? i forgot.” 

“i got it.” Foxtrot took out a boombox out of his cell before setting it down. Raps nodded.

“heh, old school tonight huh? or is that just for looks?” 

“there is something special about the boombox playing music.” 

“ain’t no lie about that.” He smiled in the darkness. Foxtrot offered his hand to Raps.

“gonna wine and dine me later?” He joked even as he took the other’s hand.

“care to dance?” 

“with you? any time, too bad you aren’t single.” The music drifted out into the night as Raps let his friend take the lead in the first dance after a slight bow... a custom in both of their worlds.

Off in the distance across the lake Chara watched as the two figures danced and decided to record it on her phone. It was kind of neat and she had no idea who they were. The two were in sync, mostly, but the taller one was seemed more unsure, if not unsteady at times as the two simply let the music move them through the night. Raps ribbed his friend about dating. He was never serious of course. He knew the other had a family and he really honestly did not feel that way towards his idol, though he did admire him greatly. At the end of the performance Chara thought about clapping but was unsure if she should or not. She did post it on the web the video before clapping her hands a little bit gaining the attention of the two skeletons across the lake.

“ah, well shit. so much for no audience.” Raps muttered.

“no biggie. you go on ahead. i can take care of the audience member.” Foxtrot said.

“a sleeping spell will make the being think it was all just a dream.” 

“just don’t start any trouble ya know? best to make sure they also wake up safe and sound too. i’ll see ya later. thanks ... for everything.” Then he was gone.

Chara was just admiring the video when Foxtrot appeared in front of her and then everything went dark. She woke up on the bench. It was early in the morning and she was tired and exhausted. She glanced at her phone unsure what all happened. Seeing that their “audience” was awake and still safe, Foxtrot returned home for a nap. Chara made her way home not realizing all the “Likes” on the video she posted. 

The next morning at Rap’s house was pretty loud as Salsa was yelling excitedly watching the television. 

“Oh My Asgore! Would You Look At This!?” Raps groaned and finally got up.

“what is all the noise about? i was havin’ that dream about the last time you an’ i were able to dance...” He found himself watching himself dancing with Foxtrot on the “What’s Hot!” part of Mettaton’s show.

_well shit._ He thought. He felt his phone vibrate.

Foxtrot: i guess our audience member recorded us.

Raps: so much for takin’ care of things huh? 

Foxtrot: i know who she is now. i will take care of things. don’t worry.

Raps: not worried really, not like they seem to know who we are. fortunately, even if it is all over the news... ugh. just means we need to find a new park.

Foxtrot: i still feel like if we can convince the chara that video she posted was a “fake” then we can have the park to ourselves.

Raps: it was a chara huh?

Foxtrot: yeah, it looked like one of the few chara’s that didn’t have a corrupt soul go figure that.

Raps: wait... so it wasn’t one of the ones we all know? 

Foxtrot: ummm… not sure. 

Raps: i’d think you’d know by now since you’ve met them. so that’s a negative... hrm. can’t be too many of ‘em runnin’ around.

Foxtrot: oh you mean dr. chara. yeah i think it was her now that you mention it. 

Raps stared.

Raps: you have to be f. joking... 

Raps: be careful, she asks a lot of questions and not always the kind you wanna answer.

Foxtrot: then you talk to her. 

Raps: and say what? i can’t exactly hypnotize others like you can ya know.

Foxtrot: i was just going to say if you know her like as a friend to take it down.

Raps: i know her, but i can’t say we’re friends yet. i just helped her out a bit ago with an issue she had, that doesn’t make us friends.

Foxtrot: what if we tag team this and take care of it like the judge and sidekick act?

Raps: if you have a good reason for that to work... i’m all ears on this one.

Foxtrot: basically you distract her and i hack her phone. 

Foxtrot: before you ask i just think the judge is cool to say. 

Raps: pff... you and my bro... honestly. but we can give it a shot. i’ll just ask her to hang out at muffet’s and i’ll give you the time we’ll be there.

Foxtrot: hehe… reminds me a little bit of how me and my frisk started dating.

Raps: yeah? you still haven’t told me the full story of that yet. 

Foxtrot: well i used to dance by myself on top of the roof of my apartment building. little did i know i had my own little audience member watching me. it was frisk. she didn’t know it was me though and only when things came to a head that we discovered who we were and that we were in love with each other.

Raps: sounds like the makings of a romantic comedy

Foxtrot: yeah, but maybe this chara is your romantic comedy. i am just messing with you. 

Raps: no thanks. i ain’t lookin’ for a partner. geeze pal, you’ve pulled that way too many times.

besides, you and i both know that would mean finding a right dance partner and i swore i’d never dance with another... well, until you decided to show up. but you’re ‘safe’ 

Foxtrot: i didn’t mean to bring up some bad memories.

Raps: eh, forget about it pal. i ain’t gunna hold it against ya... besides, ain’t your fault i can’t seem to escape it.

Foxtrot: i will just wipe her memory of the incident and her phone. you don’t have to worry.

Raps: sounds good. like i said though, i’ll set things up. she has trust issues so i don’t think she’d just meet with you out of the blue without us three goin’ somewhere. like... maybe come back here to watch a movie? you could do your little ‘lullaby’ again then.

Foxtrot: alright just let me know when to be there.

Raps: sure thing.

He stuck the phone back into his pocket in time to catch the tail end of the show his brother was watching. His brother was probably the only Sans who was equally a fan of the Mettatons and Napstabots. 

Chara got up and got dressed for work. She didn’t realize her video was the hottest thing on YouTube or that all over the media was talking about that clip. 

Raps: sorry about last night, fell asleep. couch is just too comfy

Charadoll: It is fine. Heading to work. 

Raps: after that, wanna meet me at muffet’s?

Chara glanced at the text and was unsure how to take it. Was he asking her out on a date? It could be taken that way but he didn’t seem like the type to beat around the bush about it. After a moment there was a second text.

Raps: it just doesn’t feel right giving you an answer over the phone. feels... too impersonal ya know?

Chara flushed as she thought maybe he had some feelings for her and then a sinking feeling as she thought maybe he wanted to tell her that he didn’t want to hang out and he wanted her to lose his number. She took a deep breath and typed one word.

Charadoll: Okay 👌 

Raps: great, see ya then. 

_Well you suck Chara. Couldn’t leave a better message that actually explained something? I bet a baboon could write better messages than that._ Chara thought to herself.

  
  


Raps smiled a little and shot off a text to Foxtrot about when to be there, that way it seemed natural... He went to his room and slipped on some music, the same music that gave him his nickname and it wasn’t entirely what most would think... He found it calming.

That whole day Chara couldn’t concentrate as she wasn’t sure what to do. She ended up fixing her hair and putting on a little bit of makeup. Just in case. Raps left for the cafe a bit early, sitting outside staring at a menu as he waited for her to arrive. 

“Ummm… waiter. Yes, I am looking for Raps?” Chara asked the waiter outside who pointed in the direction of Raps sitting outside. She was so nervous she didn’t even realize she walked right past him getting to the restaurant.

“Hi R-raps…” He looked up and grinned.

“hey. how’s things been?” 

“Good, yourself?” Chara took a seat as Foxtrot moved to a table nearby to start hacking her phone.

“I am glad you invited me. This is a nice place.”

“not bad really. glad you like it. i wanted to really have a place to just kinda relax while we talked.” A waiter came towards the pair.

“Is it about not helping with the project?” Chara bit the bullet and decided to jump the gun.

“straight to the point huh?” 

“Is there something I can get you?” 

“just some hot green tea for me, no sugar, no lemon.” 

“I will have a sans-wich and a tea. I haven’t eaten all day.” Chara wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved or upset that the waiter appeared.

“What kind of tea would you like, miss? We have green, chamomile, golden flower, echo flower and sun tea.” 

“I think I will have sun tea.” 

“Iced or hot?” Raps seemed amused that the waiter had taken the order with a straight face.

“Sun is hot duh.” Raps snorted in amusement.

“Yes, but that’s how it is made, not how it is served. Some prefer it chilled.”

“On the sun? I am surprised there is any liquid left.” The waiter was trying not to be exasperated by her.

“I mean your tea miss. Not the actual sun.” 

“Oh it is a step son situation gotcha. I get ya.” Raps snickered.


	11. Chapter 11

“Ma’am, please answer the question.” 

“Chilled tea like my humor. Cold reception.” The waiter left.

“geeze, no sense of humor there eh?”

“It is okay. His brother is my ex so we don’t exactly get along anyways.”

“geeze, small world.” 

“It is fine and don’t worry about the lab thing, it is alright.”

“anyway, i just felt that it would be rude to not at least talk about this in person. i do want to help... i just can’t. it’s a personal thing, has nothing to do with you or the project.” 

“Look, I get it. I am sure it is a legitimate reason. I don’t want you to feel pressured.”  _ I am already pressured enough as it is to be here. I guess I can call this a friendship or maybe not even that. _

“i appreciate it. also... the reason i can’t is kinda the same reason i haven’t looked for hope. i came here to start a new life, not try to go back to what i had before.... things got bad.” That was putting it lightly... 

_ “you sure you wanna do this kid?” _

_ “Yeah! If it means getting you to the surface then let’s do it!” _

_ “alright...” He went over to the machine and began to boot it up, they’d run hundreds of simulations now without problem. Even tested it with a small sample of determination... There was just one thing they hadn’t counted on. _

_ “Don’t Worry! I’m Sure It Will Be Fine!”  _

_ “everything checks out... readings normal... okay... let’s do this...” The machine hummed to life... but moments later there was beeping and the readings were off the charts. _

_ “chara! chara we have to shut it down!” He scrambled to shut the machine down, but it had a grip on their soul... There was that insistent beeping and then something exploded and... darkness. _

“It is fine. It is nothing. I heard from Classic that labs are a bad place for you guys. Maybe I should go back to work. They need help and I am just talking away.”

“yeah, i just wanted to at least let you know if you wanna talk something over... i’d do that, but i just can’t work there myself.” 

“It is fine. Really.” Chara smiled lightly as the sandwich and teas arrived giving her the much needed buffer between them.

“alright, well before you dive into work maybe you wanna hang out a bit? i know work can be stressful.” He said once the waiter left again.

“Sure, for a bit. I can at least do that.” Foxtrot gave the okay symbol to Raps as he walked away from the table. It meant part one was a success.

“great, i’ve got a few i think will do the trick. comedies of course.” Chara smiled. She was enjoying the company. It had been a long time since she hung out with someone even if it wasn’t a date.

“Tell me about yourself. Have a brother? Family? Or… is that off topic as well?” 

“i have a younger brother. he's like me, kinda, does all sorts of different jobs, but unlike me he has a main job at the local dance studio. keeps tryin’ to get me to come. he’s more hyper active though and he’s the cook between the two of us. the only thing i can make that he can’t is spaghetti, funnily enough.” 

“Oh? You dance then? Or sing?”

“heh, nah. i haven’t danced in years and i’m not really much for singing.” 

“Yesterday, I swore I dreamt about two beautiful dancers. It was so memorizing. It was beyond anything I could ever do and it was… I wish it was real. I think in my dream I even recorded it. Isn’t that funny?”

“really? well if you saw somethin’ like that it doesn’t surprise me you’d try and record it, right?” He shifted his gaze over to his tea to pick the cup up.  _ heh... right... she probably was referin’ to foxtrot... _

“I wish it was real… to be honest. I could watch that performance for hours on end I think.” 

“well, nuthin’ i can say to that. since, ya know, i didn’t see it.” A text from Slim when he’d woke up had reassured him that the video had been taken off the internet too.

“Hmm… wait I wonder if I can show you.” Chara looked around. It seemed to have slowed down and no one was around. She got up and clumsily tried to recreate the magic she saw yesterday night. It wasn’t the best but she was trying her hardest.  He watched for a moment before he set the cup down and went over to her.

“don’t force it... dance is a smooth movement.” He stood behind her, gently guiding her through the movements. Her hand loosely in his hand as she let him lead. She felt like she was floating with such ease with him. Neither seemed to notice the small audience from the cafe as he gently guided her through the more easier steps of the dance from the night before. Nothing flashy, but graceful and full of expression nonetheless.

“see?” He said once they’d finished.

“Y-yeah… t-that was a-amazing.” Chara said with a flush. She was so close to him and her heart started to pound. He hadn’t really realized how close they were until then, he’d been focused on getting her to relax so that the movements were more fluid and natural. He stepped back.

“um... heh... i g-guess i got a little carried away. sorry.” He was heading back to the table when Chara grabbed his hand to tug him back for a brief hug.

“D-don’t be sorry. I r-really really liked it. I f-felt like I w-was floating on air.” Chara mumbled. He didn’t respond, seeming a little flustered. The audience dispersed as Chara took her seat. Her attention was solely focused on the monster who made her night so magical. He, on the other hand, was trying to figure out why he’d done something so stupid and had managed to not tick her off with it... and where the heck was Foxtrot during this? He was supposed to have come over at some point! Where had this plan gone so wrong? Seriously… At that moment he felt his phone go off and Foxtrot was sending him a text. Raps pulled the phone out to see who it was.

Foxtrot: hey part one was a success when we get her back to your place we can hypnotize her. 

Raps: sounds good, where’d you go?

Foxtrot: back to my place to get things fixed up. you need to relax everything is going to plan.

Raps: you sound like my brother right now you realize that right?

He wasn’t sure if he should be amused or exasperated at that. He just decided not to think too hard on it.

Raps: also, we should probably move our time back to 2a just so this won’t happen again.

Foxtrot: sounds like a plan.

Raps: next week then.

“Will you pick me up after work for the whole movie thing you talked about?” 

“that’s the plan. i’ll meet ya outside.” 

“I w-will be going now. I had fun on this date of ours.” 

“see ya later then.”  Chara left to work with the biggest grin. Some of the coworkers seemed more distracted than usual but she didn’t know why. They had their cell phones close at hand watching a video and were muttering random things. Her mind was elsewhere as her heart pitter pattered lightly. At the end of the shift she was supposed to meet up with Raps outside of the labs.

“W-why are y-you acting so frazzled?” Dr. Mews asked nudging Dr. Chara slightly causing her to flush even more.

“I g-got a date tonight.” 

“Y-you do?! Oh my g-gosh g-girl let’s get you d-dressed up!” 

“so i was thinking comedy, what do you think? i mean, unless you have any better ideas on movies.” Raps was saying to Foxtrot as the two walked towards the lab.

“comedy is the best unless you decide to make out with the girl.” 

“oh please, why would i do that when i invited you along for this? besides, i don’t go around kissin’ strangers. geeze. don’t tell me the others have filled your head about the whole hooking up thing. i swear i hear it more and more often, like they think i can’t live without it.” 

“nah, i just like to mess with you.” Inside the labs, the assistants were swapping clothes and dressing Chara up. 

“yeah, yeah... i swear sometimes it’s hard to know when you’re joking and when you’re serious.” 

“if i didn’t do it someone else would dare take my job for me then.” Foxtrot teased. By the time the boys arrived Chara had her down with light curls. She was wearing a white blouse with a long light orange skirt. 

“woah... looks like one of the lab assistants is getting lucky tonight.” Foxtrot hadn’t expected Chara to look like that and wasn’t used to her looking that particular way.

“oh pipe down! that’s not an assistant.” Raps felt a little embarrassed, but said nothing on it.

“Oh, hi Raps… and Foxtrot right? Classic said you are his close friend.” 

“yeah, he’s gonna join us for the movie, seems he was left on his own tonight and i told him he could come over since it didn’t seem right ta leave a brother just hangin’ ya know?” 

“yep, we are going to have a fun time.” Foxtrot gave a confused look as he felt she overdressed for this little meeting but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t the only one.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Chara was a little disappointed. She was hoping to have some alone time with Raps. They made their way to the house. She wished she had the courage to talk to Raps like Foxtrot did. Raps didn’t say anything on the way, but Foxtrot sure did.... 

“so do you have plans later tonight?” He asked Chara, he was trying to rib Raps about the color of the skirt, which Raps was trying to ignore... and Foxtrot knew this.

“I w-was h-hoping that … maybe R-raps could w-walk me h-home l-later if h-he didn’t mind.” Chara said in a breathless tone. She was so nervous it was plain to see. 

“sure.” He wondered why she seemed nervous, was there something bothering her that she didn’t want his friend to know?

“i think i should run ahead and get the movie set up. why don’t you take the long way raps?” Foxtrot said with a smirk. 

“don’t forget the snacks pal.” Raps reminded him, he knew the other was trying to give them space so that - whatever it was - Chara could talk to him about it. Foxtrot nodded and went behind a tree and disappeared leaving the two alone.

“W-well… h-how are y-you?” Her throat felt tight but it wasn’t an allergic reaction just nerves.

“i’m alright. things been going okay for you?” He glanced over, he seemed concerned.

“Yeah, I am enjoying our date.” He stopped.

“date? wait is that what you were nervous about?”  _ well shit...  _

“Y-yeah, I wanted to i-impress you. I over thought this didn’t I?” 

“ah... look... i’m flattered... really... but i’m not looking to date.” 

“I see. Well… I really misread things. The meal, the dance and now a movie. I am sorry I jumped to conclusions.” 

“i just wanted to hang out... the dance was... just me bein’ a bit anal... and, well... i explained the whole cafe thing. or i thought i did.” 

“It is fine.” Chara said as she took the ponytail off her wrist and put her hair up again.

“sorry, i didn’t meant to confuse you.”  _ damn, well this makes shit awkward now doesn’t it? well... the sooner this is resolved the better. _

“It is okay.” Chara made her way to his house. He wasn’t sure what to say after that as they walked to the house.

“I thought you were a good teacher even if you are anal about it.” Chara muttered before they got to the house. He nearly sighed and followed her inside.

“well... did i miss something?” Foxtrot asked. 

“i’ll explain later.” Raps muttered as he sat down on the couch.

“what movie did you pick?” 

“i picked a classic. history of the world part one.” 

“That is a pretty good movie.” Chara said, taking a seat. The moment she sat down Foxtrot began to hypnotize her.

“too bad you won’t see any of it.” Foxtrot said. 

“you will forget any dance you saw within the last few days. if anyone asks you about a video you will claim you don’t know what they are talking about. if they claim they saw a video you will say that it was fake and you are sorry.” Raps just watched Foxtrot work his magic in silence.

“anything you want me to add? like stay away from you?” Foxtrot asked.

“nope. she ain’t the stalker type, sheesh. and i don’t mind havin’ a new friend.”

“i guess that makes sense but i figured how awkward you two were that you don’t want her around.” Raps shook his head.

“just put her to sleep already and i’ll explain that.” 

“oh i got a good one.” He turned back to Chara.

“you will stop asking so many questions to raps. go to sleep.” 

“that was a good one.” Raps remarked once Chara was asleep. He then told Foxtrot about the whole misunderstanding before settling in to watch the movie. 

“ooh boy. i could have had her avoid you.” 

“look, i don’t want to ruin a possible friendship over a miscommunication and i’d rather not change her that much pal. this was just supposed to be a memory wipe, not a freakin’ re-write. it happened, let’s just leave it at that.” 

“alright. geez... i thought i was helping. why are you getting so defensive all of a sudden?” 

“sorry. i’ve just been stressed over this whole week more than usual, i think it’s cuz my cycle is close. bro always did tell me i act like a ‘human teenager’ around that time... guess he’s right.” 

“you know... she probably be down for a week night stand.” 

“no. absolutely not. if i had plans for that i’d find a hooker. not a doctor who could fix our entire issue at the labs.” 

“i guess that makes sense.” Chara slumped over on the couch and leaned against Raps. He sighed and gently repositioned her.

“i can drop her off or would you like me to wake her up?” 

“eh, wake her up after the movie. more believable then.” 

“makes sense.” 

“geeze, you really  _ don’t _ do this often if i have to point that out.” 

“you know it was the other day me and risk were just talking about the last time i took a random being hypnotized them and manipulated them.” 

“when was that? the thing with your mate’s father?” He knew that his friend had eventually, after being unable to persuade the guy, literally hypnotized him into paying the money he owed to everyone he had a kid with before setting him loose again... and after he’d had him castrated too... medically of course, and branded a man-whore on his face so he couldn’t get away from it.

“it was a long time ago about four to five years ago.” 

“not that long then, but long enough.” 

“anyway... i think it is kind of cute how she dressed up in your color.” 


	12. Chapter 12

“coincidental, no way she knew what color my magic was and i seriously doubt dr. mews would just give away that information.” He paused a moment.

“though i wouldn’t put it past her or half the staff there to use it against me to try and set me up either.” 

“well i think things should get better soon.” The movie was coming to an end and Foxtrot shook Chara gently. She stirred and looked at the boys confused. She turned to Foxtrot.

“What happened?” 

“you fell asleep. you should rest more as you missed out on a great movie.” Foxtrot explained. Chara glanced at Raps then got up. She felt embarrassed.

“I am sorry. I d-didn’t…” Chara got up and made her way to the door. 

“T-thank you for the-” She paused as she recalled him telling her it wasn’t a date. It slightly stung but she forced a smile on her face.

“Tea... and the company. Goodnight.” Foxtrot was wondering if Raps was going to follow her or take her home. 

“yeah, and don’t worry about fallin’ asleep, musta been a long day at work.” He gave her a reassuring smile... at least he hoped it was reassuring. He at least got up to open the door for her, he wasn’t raised to be rude after all. She nodded and went out into the night to head home. It was already clouding in. He followed her, at a distance, to make sure she made it home alright before he shortcut back to the house. Chara got inside feeling so embarrassed. On top of it she felt like a giant fool. _Stupid Chara! How could you think someone like that would even look at you like that._ She washed up and made her way to bed.

  
  


“now that that’s over with, what are your plans the rest of the evening?” Raps asked as he sat down on the couch again.

“i got to go home and watch the kiddos. kinda grown attached to them.” 

“pff, i bet. mind if i tag along? i ain’t got anything to do tonight.” 

“uhh... sure. you can watch the kiddos and i can cuddle with the missus for a bit.” 

“sure pal.” It was the least he could do for a friend.

The next day Chara made her way to work as social media became a hornet’s nest as a fake video was posted with Chara “apologizing” for the fake dancers video. So as she made it to work a Mettaton came over to interview her.

“Papyrus! Look At This! They Caught The Fake Video Maker! Wait… Isn’t That Dr. Chara?” On the TV Chara was trying to avoid the cameras as she was heading to work. 

“I s-said I am sorry. I d-didn’t mean to p-post that video. I d-don’t even r-remember posting it.” 

“A Likely Story! You Get The Truth Mettaton And Napstablook!” 

“wow, that’s not somethin’ i expected to see... geeze, news must be slow if they’re pickin’ on her over an honest mistake.” 

“That So Called Video Has The Same Amount Of Views As SS' Concert Video!”

“you mean his old stuff?” Raps asked. Far as he knew Foxtrot had been out of the limelight after that little thing with E3 years ago.

“Yeah! Isn’t That Crazy! You Should See The Comments. They Loved The Tall Guy And Thought The Pair Danced Beautifully! That Could Have Been You If You Open Up, I Think.”

“yeah, about as crazy as you meetin’ the guy and not knowing it.” Raps agreed.

“and we’ve already discussed this bro. i ain’t what i used to be, an’ even if i was you know i don’t like the limelight.” 

“I Know. Ugh This Video And Her Deserves All The Negative Press. We Need To Get Rid Of Those Who Cause Problems For Us All! I Think I Should Go Find Her And Talk To Her About How Hard It Is To Dance.” 

“hey, that’s not nice and you know it. just because she posted something she made doesn’t mean she’s mocking us. maybe she just really liked ss’ work ya know?”

“You Don’t Like The Attention And Neither Does SS… You Know This Will Only Cause That Kind Of Demand. Plus, I Don’t Like Liars.” 

“a mistake isn’t lyin’ bro. besides, he can handle himself. if he couldn’t then why would he have done that thing at E3 after bein’ out of sight for so long?” He didn’t say it, but maybe the whole wiping the video had been a bad thing... 

“I Guess So. You Are Probably Right. Though I Will Say She Has The Mindset To Choreograph Maybe I Can Teach Her Thus She Can Learn The Error In Her Ways And Find Her Calling If She Can Make A Video Like That.” 

“maybe so, just try not to be too hard on her when you do talk to her about it, from what little i’ve seen of her she seems to be one of those really sensitive souls... so... try to think before you say somethin’.” 

“I Will Help Try Toughen Her Up As Well.” 

“that will have to be up to her.” 

Chara eventually made her way to work where her associates began to isolate themselves from her as well as the corrupted. It was a long day but she continued to work on the cure. She avoided others and just tried to get through the day. At the end of the day she was exhausted from the ridicule and the avoidance from others. Raps was waiting outside for her.

“Don’t tell me. I am the worst. Yep, you are so right.” Chara said as she walked past him. Her head slumped and she looked broken. He caught her hand.

“hey.” He said gently.

“why don’t ya come with me?” Yeah... he felt really bad now. He had talked to Foxtrot over it earlier that day... he’d no idea this would be such a big deal.  
  


“Sure, but they will be upset.” Chara could see the reporters about a block away. He smirked at Chara before he flipped the group off then shortcut her to the house.

“buncha vultures, news must be slow if they’re coverin’ somethin’ so minor. ya’d think they’d have better things to report than some stupid online video.”

“I don’t even remember a video of dancers.”

“Ahhh… Brother You- Hey Dr. Chara!” 

“which just goes to prove that it wasn’t important. hey bro. why don’t you make some of your famous dessert, i think our doc here could use a bit of it. she’s had a bad day.” 

“Just One Moment… Your Video Is Very Well Made But It Is A Lie And If You Plan On Making Fake Things At Least You Should Do Is Know The Real Thing So From Now On Before Work You Will Be Attending My Dance Classes.” Chara didn’t say anything and just nodded. She was just too tired to argue any more. 

“There See. Now Don’t Lie Anymore! I Will Be Back With Dessert.” With that Salsa left to grab some dessert as Chara slumped back on the couch. 

“sorry about that, he was rather upset over the whole media matter.” Rap murmured.

“i don’t get what the big deal is.” 

“I don’t know either but I feel it is my responsibility to apologize and make amends still. Maybe my soul has become corrupted? I should contact Classic to have him check my soul or contact the Judge.” 

“nah, you’re not corrupted, just really depressed.” 

“Ahh… good to know.” 

“Here We Go One Salsa’s Chocolate Dessert!” It was just a bowl of chocolate salsa with cinnamon sugar chips. He handed it over to Chara who forced a smile. Despite the odd mixture, it was actually pretty tasty... 

“Thank you.” Salsa smiled and sat next to her making himself the being in between Chara and Raps.

“You Are Very Welcome! Now Let’s Talk About Why You Came Up With That Video. Papyrus Mentioned You Are A Little Sensitive. Is That True?” Chara’s expression didn’t even change as she heard this.

“Not really. I didn’t think so. I am told that I am too speculative and that I ask too many questions. Then again what is a scientist? A person who wants answers. I am a little more pessimistic and I am a little demoralized. I care deeply and often let others take and take without me getting anything in return.” Salsa gave a weird expression as he wasn’t expecting that kind of response. 

“bro, do you really have to repeat everything i tell you?” 

“What? You Can’t Solve A Problem By Ignoring It.” 

“no, but not everyone wants to be ‘fixed’ too. we’ve talked about this before remember? this is why you and stretch got into that argument a month ago.” 

“I Just Want To Help!” Chara just began to eat the dessert. She felt she was adding more tension than helping it.

“I should go.” Chara said, trying to get up but Salsa put his hand out to prevent her from getting up.

“No! We Are Going To Solve This Problem Together!” 

“brother.”

“What? What did I do wrong?”

“leave it be, if she wants your help she’ll ask for it.”

“I will stay if it stops the argument between you two.” 

“You Need To Learn To Be Stronger. If You Can Convince Me That You Need To Go Then You Can Leave.” 

“Fine, I will just stay here and live here for the rest of my life consuming your food and eventually soiling the couch. From there I will develop bedsores and which will become septic and eventually I die. Then you will be forced to move my dead carcass. Unless, the smell of a corpse that defecates on themselves seems like a perfect perfume for a skeleton to have around the place.” Salsa was stunned. He didn’t expect that kind of answer at all.

“well, that is one way to put it.”

“Please get along with your brother. You only have one and you should be a team. I think I will go for a walk.” Chara got up.

“see you later then.” 

“I Will Escort You.” Chara wasn’t expecting that and sighed. Raps watched the two, his brother was really too persistent sometimes... He wasn’t going to fight with Sans over this, not again. They’d been over this already and he really didn’t feel like doing it all over again.

“If I stay will you not follow me?” Chara asked. 

“What, Don’t You Want Me To Follow You?” 

“you start doin’ that she might get the idea you’re crushin’ on her... are ya?” Raps asked.

“What? Pfff… I Don’t Date Anyone Who Can’t Dance. Once She Becomes Good I Can Possibly Mate Her Mate Material.” 

“and that’s why some of the guys think we shouldn't date bro... well, that and they have a weird sense of what it means to be family.” Chara gave a confused look but looked at Salsa to ask.

“So are you interested in your brother like that?” She was only half-ways serious. Salsa gave a disgusted look. Raps knew it was a joke among the others because his brother’s standards for dancing were so high... and looked over at his brother.

“aw c’mon, don’t think i’m good enough to date because i don’t dance?” He was joking, of course.

“You …ow… my head just hurt.” Chara clutched her head. She wasn’t supposed to ask Raps questions and she was just about to. 

“you okay?” 

“Y-yeah I t-think so…” 

“hmm, okay.” _that was odd._

“Never mind I forgot what I was going to say.” 

“Yes, You Should Learn How To Dance Again. You Could Be Just As Good As That One On The Video.” 

“no. we’ve been over this. i don’t dance.” _except with foxtrot..._

“Anyone Can Dance!” 

“i said ‘don’t’ not ‘can’t’ brother. there’s a difference.” 

“Chara, Dance With Me!” Salsa offered his hand to Chara who gave Raps a confused look. Raps shrugged and fished out his phone and tapped it, bringing up some salsa music. She took his hand and he was high pace and she felt totally out of sync with him. She barely could keep up and he spun her around making her a bit dizzy. 

“heh, maybe you should take it down a notch bro. let her at least keep up with ya. humans are more limited dancers, remember? cuz they’re organic.” 

“I Forget How Slow They Can Be.” Chara rolled her eyes. 

“been a while since you’ve had an organic partner is why. you tell me i need ta dance, but you need to branch out.” 

“True, Human Chara You Will Be My Dance Partner. Every Morning At 7 I Will Come And You And Me Will Practice.” 

“sans. she has other responsibilities you can’t just demand she do something, if you want her to help you then you need to ask.” He was still trying to break his brother of that habit... normally he was good with other monsters in asking and such, but he still needed to work on it with humans.

“Fine, Human Chara Will You Be My Dance Partner?” Chara was unsure if she could with her days being as crazy as they were.

“I c-can try but I am n-not good. I haven’t danced for years.” The hypnosis made her forget the dance the two shared between her and Raps. 

“you didn’t do too badly there.” Raps replied, he figured that she had forgotten his impromptu lesson... he didn’t mind though. It wasn’t important; besides, her muscles remembered the lesson even if her mind hadn’t and that was all that was important really.

“I d- ow… ow…” Chara clutched at her skull again before shaking it off.

“would you maybe like some water? i know organics can have headaches if they are dehydrated, even if they don’t feel thirsty.”

“I am p-probably thirsty or tired.” 

“i’ll get you that glass then.” He left his phone and went to the kitchen to get the water.

“That Is Weird You Get Those Headaches. Maybe You Are Having A Migraine Let Me Look Online What The Internet Says It Could Be.” Salsa scanned on his phone for possible results. While his brother did that, Raps came back with the glass of water and gave it to her.

“It Says It Could Be Brain Cancer. Is That What Is Causing Your Headaches?” Chara chuckled lightly.

“i highly doubt that bro. pretty sure there are other symptoms that come with having brain cancer besides just headaches that come and go, which is what a migraine is, but it’s not brain cancer related. could be stress related too, some people get bad headaches when they’re really stressed and considering her work, with the media hounding her on top of that... it would not surprise me if _that_ was the cause.” 

“It has been a long day.” Chara admitted as she sipped on the water Papyrus handed her.

“so then you need to relax more so the headaches will stop, keep hydrated and just overall be healthy i guess.” He shrugged. She looked at her belly, it wasn’t protruding but to her it was. She had a self imagery issue she dealt with. Some even told her she was a little underweight even.

“not _that_ kind.” He remarked to an unspoken comment.

“I see.”


	13. Chapter 13

“What Do We See? I Am Confused.” 

“it’s a figure of speech bro.”

“Care To Explain?”

“it just means she understands.” 

“I Mean You Said “Not That Kind” And She Said I See… What Did She M-”

“Can I crash here tonight Sans?”

“Yes, Of Course You Can. Wait, Are You Falling For Me Already?” Chara gave him a confused look.

“well, you do have all the right moves bro.” Raps joked lightly.

“Yes! I Am The Best After All! Come With Me And You Can Stay In The Guest Bedroom.” Salsa made his way to the stairs and before Chara joined him she looked at Raps.

“You don’t mind d-” Chara just clutched her head. This time when she recovered she bit her lip causing it to bleed a little.

“you okay?” Now he was really concerned.

“It is just stress I think. I will be fine. What …” She groaned as her head throbbed again.

“maybe you should just go lie down. i’m gonna head to my room, it’s getting late.”  _ and there’s someone i need to talk to...  _

“Yeah, okay. G-goodnight.” She went up and followed Salsa to her room. 

“goodnight chara.” He got up and headed off towards his room, pulling out his phone once he was there.

Raps: ft... what’s the odds that someone you hypnotized has headaches?

Foxtrot: uhhh... well if i give a lot of commands... oh...

Raps: chara’s been trying to question me this evening and every time she does she suffers a headache... it’s a pattern i’ve noticed because there’s no other pattern that explains the headaches, not tiredness or dehydration or anything else natural. 

Foxtrot: well… technically i told her not to ask you questions. 

Raps: damn it, i knew this was gonna bite me in the ass harder... 

Foxtrot: isn’t this a good thing. she seemed like a clingy being. this might be a good thing.

Raps: no! because she’s going to start thinking something serious is wrong and she might just figure out what the hell we did by process of elimination! she can’t even manage to ask a perfectly normal question now like if i care if she spends the night at our place.

Foxtrot: wait… she is there now and spending the night? what the heck happened?

Raps: yes. i rescued her from the media.

Foxtrot: why? i would think the attention wouldn’t be too bad. 

Raps: you would think... but she’s taken it to heart, she sees me and before i can even say hi she just looks at me like a kicked puppy and says something along the lines that i’m going to call her pathetic too or something. 

Foxtrot: sheesh… and she is our lifeline to the whole corruption business. 

Raps: yeah, we gotta figure out somethin’. we can’t leave her like this.

Foxtrot: i guess i can hypnotize her again but it can make it twice as bad though. 

Raps: then let’s not. there any way to just reverse that one command? or... i dunno, something?

Foxtrot: well, if she overpowers the spell she can break it by recalling the events beforehand.

Raps: that would require her to even know it exists... and wouldn’t that just destroy the entire thing?

Foxtrot: we could ask aria.

Raps: you have her number? i only have nicole’s and that’s cuz i got it from rc.

Foxtrot: well you can contact nicole. I imagine she has her number.

Raps: i will try that i guess.

Foxtrot: so what is the real reason she is there?

Raps: that was the real reason. what the hell dude?

Foxtrot: i figured if she was just feeling blue you would just take her to the park. you don’t normally take beings to your place.

Raps: if she wasn’t bein’ chased by the bloodhounds that call themselves the media, sure. plus i dunno where she lives, not like i could take her home and here was the fastest place.

Foxtrot: i didn’t mean to hit a nerve there. things will work out. just you wait and see.

Raps: *sighs* i’m startin’ to think my existence is cursed. i just wanna live a quiet life... but apparently that’s too damn much to ask.

Foxtrot: and you are for the most part. you will have your wish still.

Raps: not really, i still have to attend those meetings until they finally agree to let my brother be the judge instead of me.

Foxtrot: you are friends with a creator. pull some strings.

Raps: yeah, and that puts me on the shit list with the others instead of doing me favors. the only ones who don’t care is dream, ink and her mate.

Foxtrot: you can always do a foursome. worked for error.

Raps: what i probably NEED that would be believable is shock them into kickin’ my ass out... problem is convincing my bro to play along. toriel knows i’ve tried everything else.

Foxtrot: that project could get you out of the group for a long time.

Raps: except that you know i won’t work in a lab.

Foxtrot: so don’t. she doesn’t want to be in the limelight right now right? so tell her you are doing her a solid by letting her work on it there with you.

Raps: that’s not believable, unlike the rest of you nerds i don’t have a lab anywhere. 

Foxtrot: you don’t need a lab to write stuff. 

Raps: she has a formula she has to test, so yeah... she needs one. but that was great in theory.

Foxtrot: hang on let me pull some strings. I know a sans who has a portable lab.

Raps: at this point i’m wondering just who you DON’T know ... that list would be helluva lot shorter that’s for sure

Foxtrot: X3 if i was single and willing to mingle i would have said your ass and mine haven’t met yet.

Raps: pff, pal... if you were single you probably coulda talked me into bein’ the bitch that first month.

Foxtrot: *shrugs* my loss. 

Raps: oh well homie. i ain’t your responsibility. just a good soundin’ board. x3

After a few minutes Foxtrot sent a reply.

Foxtrot: pfff… you are more than that. you are a heck of a dancer.

Raps: right... forgot that conveniently ;3 cuz i don’t dance. honestly man... i think i was nervous that first week. 

Foxtrot: hey we all are. give yourself some credit.

1 attached item.

Raps: right... because you ran into your idol who asked you if you wanted to dance. ;)

At this point he was just giving his friend shit because he could.

Foxtrot: now i definitely missed out on something.

Foxtrot: Frisk says you can have me but no funny business. which is all i ever do.

Raps: lol tell her thanks for me.

Foxtrot: Hi this is Frisk. I think you two danced beautifully.

Raps: thanks lil ballerina

  
  


What Raps didn’t hear was the conversation between Tutu and Foxtrot. 

“That video of him dancing with that Chara was so cute.”

“i know, it’s probably the only copy in existence of him dancin’ at all. he won’t let me record durin’ our sessions.”

“That one of you and him was cute too.”

“yeah, but he’s worse than i am in terms of self-consciousness. had to take it down.” 

“Knowing you though you kept a copy. Please tell me you did. I love watching you dance.”

“ ‘course i did... i download the vid before i had it taken down.” 

“You are so amazing! Do you think the whole lab project will bring them together?”

“doubt it. he’s more closed off than i ever was... the guy was almost intimidated by me when we first met... and all i said was ‘hi’. so... yeah, i dunno what his issue is exactly, but it’s not pretty.” 

“One of them will have to be brave enough to show that they can break the ice.”

“chara already was, he turned her down.” 

“The poor thing.”

“yeah, i dunno what his damage is about that... but he refuses to go on a date... all he does is joke about that aspect of his life. he’s never serious about it and trying to be serious about it just gets him to basically rebuff it until you just give up. i ain’t the only one that’s tried bringing it up. accordion’ to him only three of the council hasn’t cornered him about it.” 

“About what?”

“havin’ a love life.” 

“Really? No one was accusing you not having one before we met. I don’t think…”

“i’m also not on the council sweetheart, never have been. i only saw the others in passing and there were a couple of times it was mentioned by red who would just go on and on and on about it... the only way i could get him to shut up was to give him a free hot dog.” 

“I guess if worse comes to worse you can… I really just don’t want to risk you in any circumstance. We gone through so much already. Mom is happy with her kids and I want things to stay like they are.”

“hun, he isn’t interested in me like that. like i said, he’s just joking around.”

“Wait… I meant the council. Is he  _ hitting _ on you?” There was a bit of anger and jealousy in her tone.

“ah, well no. i’m not doing that either. heh... kinda, but he’s not serious. it’s just the way he is, he makes a joke about his love life so everyone else will leave him alone about the subject. he thinks that if he randomly does it to others then they’ll leave him alone.” 

“You… flirt back?” Her tone sounded dangerous as she halfway huffed the line.

“i humor him, but beyond that, nothing else. it’s not something that happens often. usually if someone brings up his love life, he targets them for his ridiculous flirts.”

“Not to be a controlling Frisk but you would hate the being I flirted with.” Despite hearing this she felt a little hurt.

“yeah, i know and i’m not saying you have to like the guy or anything. i’m just tryin’ to help him anyway i can. he won’t even dance with his own brother anymore... he’s really bad off.” 

“I don’t mind him but he might think you are really serious one day and with his heat coming up like you told me he might…” She sighed and felt like the odd one out now.

“no, we already had  _ that _ talk... like half a dozen times. he’s not going to just show up and try and steal me from you just because of a heat. he isn’t that kind of an individual.” 

“So he has asked you six times already?”

“no, i mean the topic has come up six times because i keep bringing it up because i worry for him. i mean... i don’t even know if he’s well enough to have a proper heat... which is dangerous for a monster of any world.” Frisk felt guilty and felt like she was put into a very awkward situation that she didn’t want to be in.

“the case with him is touch and go and it’s not your typical case because as much as he trusts me now... he still won’t open up about what made him that way. i’m startin’ to think i can’t help him... and i don’t like that feeling.” 

“Babe, I know this will be something you might hate me for but… he isn’t your family. We are. The kids, your brother and everyone here.”

“maybe not... but it’s like watching pap beat himself up... i can’t even begin to tell you what that’s like.” 

“I can’t imagine but if you dust over him… it would break me.”

“i don’t think i would go that far... but i don’t think i’d be the same again either.” 

“You just compared him to your brother. I am worried.”

“he literally is the spitting image of pap, what else can i say?” 

“I just want you safe. I can’t make you promise that but just don’t get too involved. I love you.”

“love ya too.” He wasn’t sure it wasn’t already too late for that... how could he turn down such a soul? Not be involved? They were too alike... it was like Raps was the brother he never knew he needed.

“At least don’t s-sleep with him…” He could hear her voice cracking. She honestly couldn’t peg where his feelings were.

“i promise you i won’t do  _ that _ of all things.” He went to her and put his arms around her.

“i will never hurt you like that.” 

“I know the s-saying if you l-love someone you are supposed to let them go but is it greedy of me to not want to?” Tutu held to him close.

“i’m pretty sure that only deals with those in courtships sweetheart, not those who have dedicated their lives to one another like we have.” He nuzzled against her.

“If Error and his Frisk could sleep with others what is stopping others mimicking that?”

“we’re not them. i don’t know why they did that beyond wanting to repulse the others into leaving them alone. i also don’t think error ever promised his mate he wouldn’t.” 

“I guess you did promise me you will stay true to me alone just a moment ago right?”

“i did and i will keep that promise like i have kept all of my others. you are my world.”

“You are my sun. I revolve around you and I can’t bear to stay away.” He drew her close for a loving kiss. She returned it. She wanted only for him to live life to the fullest. His happiness was her happiness and visa versa.

  
  


The portable lab kit was pretty neat as it was in a small case and it had instructions on top.

Raps made sure that it was sitting in its case in front of the guest bedroom with a note on it:

special delivery. hope you can use it to do some tests here to keep out of sight of the media for a little while. just try not to blow us up. ;3


	14. Chapter 14

Chara got up in the morning and tripped slightly on the package before noticing it. It looked like a small case and she spotted the note. She smiled and inserted the case in the doorway like the case instructed her to do and pressed a button. The door was replaced with a new door. She opened the door and went inside.

“Where Is Chara? Shouldn’t She Eat Her Breakfast Burrito With My Famous Salsa.”

“could be off working. friend of mine sent a portal last night so she can work without havin’ to deal with the media. also... since she’s not here, i wanted to let you know that my cycle is close... so, i won’t be comin’ to breakfast tomorrow. i triple checked my stashes this morning, i have everything i need.” 

“I Will. I Totally Got Distracted And Forgot. I Am So Sorry. I Will Begin Doing The Checklist. Will You Take This Breakfast To Her?” Salsa made a new plate and put it in front of Raps.

“sure, but during that time you’ll probably have to do it, just open the door like any other. pretty simple.” He said as he took the plate.

“That Is Cool! We Can Dance And Practice The Whole Time You Are Gone!”

“pff, no. i don’t think the place it leads to has  _ that _ much room bro. but i’m sure you can dance in the living room. just remember to be slow and patient, like with a kid.” Raps finished eating his portion before he went to the room and opened the door, stepping through to the other side.

“what’s up doc?” He called out, trying to be funny. Was it just him or was it warm in here?

“Hi, how are owww…” 

“hmm, little steamy, but not as hot as your breakfast.” He made his way over to her.

“Pfffttt… I know I am hot.” Chara joked but she was down to a beater and shorts. Her shirt was already drenched in sweat.

“heh, here.” He handed over the plate. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved it was the room or not...

“I don’t know how to fix it. I just need to figure out how to lower the temperature. I can do it after breakfast. Oh which reminds me.” Chara went up to him and gave him a hug.

“Thank you so much for this lab and just giving me a chance to get away from it all.”

“no problem. foxtrot sent it to me cuz he thought it was a good idea. he has to take most of the credit for this actually.” He replied, he wasn’t sure why she hugged him, but well... it wasn’t really a bad thing either. He patted her head.

“I appreciate it still. I was thinking I would have to walk to work today and see all those guys… You are a good friend. Thank you. Especially since you hate labs. This is really nice of you.” She backed up and went over to the breakfast and took a bite.

“eh, i just don’t work in ‘em, bein’ in ‘em doesn’t bother me.” 

“Ahh… there it is!” Chara spotted the temperature gauge made her way over and turned it on. It instantly chilled the room down and without her realizing it her body reacted to the temperature change. Her nipples became visible under the skin tight shirt now.

“that’s a bit  _ too _ cold for you i think.” Chara looked down at her top and flushed and ran over to the lab coat and put it on.

“W-well that w-was awkward.” 

“anyway i hope things go well for you.”

“If you have time… you can always hang out with me. Not w-working just keep me company.” 

“uh, not this week... next maybe. i have a busy week, but hopefully we can hang out.” He hoped his brother wasn’t going to rat him out about his heat; it wasn’t that his brother didn’t know it was supposed to be secret or anything, but if one got his brother talking... sometimes he just said things he shouldn’t... not that he ever meant to. 

“Oh…” 

“yeah. but we can hang out again when i’m free. i’ll catch ya later and try not to freeze yourself now that you know how to keep things cool.” He chuckled and headed back for the door.

“Hehe… well I am already hot enough right ow… stupid headaches.” 

“and maybe chill a little in the meantime.” He joked back. He didn’t comment on the headache this time, he really did feel bad... shit. He headed straight for his room after that.

  
  
  


When Salsa got to his studio he found someone else had beat him there. Not just the other teachers. In the room he usually taught in was a figure twirling about, as graceful as a swan and the moves were varied... neither fully that of ballet nor really anything in particular, it was like seeing a more graceful version of hip-hop as the movements expressed feelings of serene grace and self assurance. The dancer wore a soft lavender skirt and a light green tunic; a dark purple head wrap though seemed to disguise her identity and the soft shoes that the dancer wore were like that of a child just learning ballet.

“Wow, You Are Really Good. Do I Know You?” Salsa asked, coming over. The figure gave a graceful turn before he met the lavender eye lights. She was clearly a skeleton.

“Yes and no. It has been a few years since we saw each other, Sans.”

“Aria… Long Time No See. What Brings You Around?” 

“i wanted to relax a little and dance is a good way to do it.” 

“Ahh… Have You Heard From Hope Lately? I Haven’t Seen Her For Years.” 

“No. I am not in contact with her. Very few here keep touch with me.” 

“I See. This Chara She Made A Fake Video Of Dancing She Is Currently At Our Place. She Gets Weird Headaches.” 

“Oh? Which Chara?” 

“Dr. Chara? Does That Ring Any Bells?” 

“Hmmm, yes, she is helping me and Nikki with the corrupted. That is... unusual. She is not really the type to simply make fake videos... let me see something here...” Silver flashed into her eye lights and then faded.

“As I thought. It’s a cover story.” 

“It Is A Cover Story?” 

“According to the Code, it seems Chara caught your brother and Foxtrot dancing in the park... she recorded it and the two of them decided to cover it up because of your brother’s insecurities and issues with dancing in general. I’m surprised Foxtrot managed to convince him. I knew if anyone could... Foxtrot would have a shot at it, this is both good and bad.” 

“THAT WAS HIM DANCING IN THE VIDEO! Then Why Does Chara Have Headaches?” 

“My guess is that she was given a command from the hypnotism and when she tries to go against it, the result is the headaches to stop her from doing what she is trying to do. Foxtrot has the ability, but headaches are a side effect of it because the ability is not of the correct caliber yet to actually do what it should. He meant well, but he has caused problems. I will have to meet with Dr. Chara to correct this.” 

“Yes, Come With Me. I Am Going To Train Her To Be My Dance Partner And Those Headaches May Hinder Her.”

“Is she coming to the lesson today?” 

“I Told Her To… Oh Look Here She Comes.” The reporters were grouped around her even though she tried to hide herself under a coat. Aria sighs and walks over to the group. 

**“Be gone!”** The group didn’t stay, the moment they heard her speak they scattered like rats. Chara was shaken herself but she was trying to comply to what she agreed to.

“Insistent pests. Are you alright Doctor Chara?” She said gently, turning to the shaken girl.

“Yes, I am okay. I didn’t mean to cause you any problems miss.” 

“Here now, no need for formalities friend. Come, Sans has told me what has happened.”

“I r-remember you. You are the one who saved me.” 

“I am.” The smile beneath the veil was in her tone.

“Let’s go into the studio, we have some time before the rest of the class is due to show up and I will do something about your headaches. Sans is worried they will hinder your abilities.”

“Yes, You Will Prove My Brother Wrong As I Will Show Him That Anyone Can Dance Properly.”

“I don’t think that is what Raps meant.” It didn’t matter as Salsa was in his own head. 

“Don’t worry over it too much, now please, have a seat.” She gestured to the floor once they had gotten back into the studio room. Chara did as she was told. Aria settled down before her.

“Can I ask you a question?” 

“Of course.”

“Why does it feel like I forgot something? My head has been throbbing lately and I can’t figure out why.” 

“Because you have. Your memory has been tampered with. I cannot say you will be pleased with the ones responsible should I restore that memory. It was done for personal reasons and the two responsible are not currently present. I will amend the spell used and erase the commands.” Her eye lights flickered to silver and she reached out towards Chara, a silver aura wrapping gently around Chara as Aria undid Foxtrot’s work, instead, replacing it with a more proper block so that the memory could be accessed if one had enough force of will, but would not hurt should it be gone against or broken.

“There.” 

“Why can’t I remember the memories? Are they that bad?” 

“No. Rather, it was erased because one of those responsible doesn’t wish it to be known. This individual was very adamant that it be as if it never existed... and don’t even think about it Sans.” Aria added the last bit before the other could even open his mouth.

“He has his reasons, leave it.” She turned her attention back to Chara, her eye lights back to their normal lavender hue.

“It doesn’t interfere with the formula right?” 

“Correct. It has nothing to do with you or science... and everything to do with the soul who wanted this memory gone. I’ll see what I can do about the whole paparazzi thing as well. They have better things to do with their time than harass a scientist about a video.” 

“It would be nice. I imagine Papyrus and Sans want me out of their house too.” 

“No, that’s your own self doubt talking. Neither of the brothers mind you being there. Sorry Sans, but it is true.” She did have the habit of sometimes talking about others in the third person when they were there... she was trying to break it. 

“At any rate, shall we spend the rest of the time dancing?” 

“Yes, We Need To Make You The Best Dancer!” 

“Heh, if she was you’d never let anyone else have her.” Aria chuckled.

“Hmm… You Might Be Onto Something There.” Chara glanced at Aria with a bit of confusion.

“Oh? What do you have in mind?” 

“I Have Thoughts And I Will Not Say Them In Front Of My Prodigy.” Sans gestured for Aria to come to the other side of the room so Chara couldn’t hear. 

“May I ask the nature of such thoughts at least?” She asked as she walked over to him.

“I Think My Brother Will Be So Impressed By Chara’s Dancing Skills That He Will Be Inspired To Start Dancing Again. I Think He Needs To See Even The Wimpiest Of Beings Can Be Strong In Their Own Right.” 

“That isn’t the issue Sans. In fact... your idea has merit... but I think to get him to emerge, there needs to be a different twist to it.” 

“Like What?” 

“I think we can back him into a corner if he thinks she  _ can’t _ do it right without proper guidance from someone who knows what they are doing and who else could convince him that she needs someone to help than you? All you have to do is say you can’t manage to get her to perform properly. You don’t have to say what kind of dance it is, just that your efforts have seen minimal success.” 

“I See… Then Have Him Teach Her. You Are A Genius!” 

“I try. At any rate, he’s already done it once, without prompting... but if what I read was correct, he felt he stepped out of line... but in this case, if you’re clearly asking for help then he will eventually agree.” 

“I Will Tell Her To Go Home To Work On That Project Of That Science Thing… Or Should I Have Her Here?” 

“Hmmm, yes, tell her that you decided to cancel today’s class because a personal issue arose that you need me to help with, that should be enough to get her to leave and go back to the science project. We’ll head to a different room to ‘talk’ and once the coast is clear we’ll just come back here for the class.” 

“Sounds Good.” Aria walked off towards the door while he talked to Chara. 

“Chara, I Am Sorry To Say This But I Am Unable To Teach You Today. Something Came Up.”   
  


“Oh… I guess I will go home then.”

“No! I Would Like You At Our Place. Just Uh… Work On Your Project And Tonight I Will Make Supper. Tomorrow You Can Make It Up By Making Supper. How Does That Sound?”

“You want me there for more than a day?” Aria tried not to facepalm as she headed out of the room...  _ Subtly never was the strong suit of the brothers and neither was an eloquence of words...  _

“I Miss Having A Third Person To Make Food For. It Has Been A Long Time. I Actually Enjoy Having A Roommate Again.” Chara felt her heart melt a little as she nodded.

“It is nice to have someone to talk to. Plus, I don’t like living alone. Alright you have a deal. Tonight if you help me I can move in even.” Sans smiled. 

“Awesome! See You Tonight Then.” Chara returned the grin and left to her new home to work on the project. Aria waited in a nearby room that had been empty previously. The only other teacher currently there, doing warm ups it seemed, was Asgore... and he was closest to the back of the building in terms of rooms.

“Hello Aria. I Got Myself A New Roommate!” 

“Is that right?” 

“Yes, I Am Actually Looking Forward To This. I Would Like A New Friend. I Really Do Miss My Old Chara Sometimes.” 

“I’m sure you do, I cannot say Hope is Chara, but she is something.”

“Is She Happy?” 

“Hmmm... moderately.” During the pause, Aria had tapped into the Code to answer.

“She doesn’t want to be reminded of the past and what happened... but at the same time, she’s looking for someone to be her other half. I offered her the chance to be apart from Frisk again... originally, but she refused the offer for some reason.”

“I Think They Kinda Make Each Other Complete. I Am Just Guessing Though.”

“I wouldn’t know, but then again, if that were true... why would she need anyone else? The search for a partner, a mate, is not simply for physical satisfaction... but to find the other half of ourselves.” 

“I Want To Meet Her Again. Maybe She Will Tell Me What Is Going On. I Miss Her Terribly.” 

“With her life, maybe, but nothing else. She doesn’t even trust Dream with that and they’ve been talking for years.”

“You Are Not Here About Her Though Are You?” 

“No, but I’m always willing to help. As I said, I came here to relax a bit. I need to do something with these old bones that isn’t just sitting around or combat training.”

“You Are Always Doing Something. I Heard That Nicole Was Involved With The Last Mission.”

“She is, she is the one who discovered the corrupted souls.” 

“Why Can’t You Fix The Souls?”


	15. Chapter 15

“It’s a complicated problem. Normally, like with Chara, I fix problems by altering Code. However, the Creator who made the corrupted souls has made that more difficult to do. The corrupted souls have some sort of barrier around them, keeping us from simply accessing their Code like normal. Much like a sprinter who sees a large jump ahead... except that instead of a hurdle to jump... it’s a brick wall with no easy way around it... and if we try to get around it without the proper method... it literally erases the subject in question. Watching a living thing just... die like that is very demoralizing, frustrating and unnerving. Nicole about lost it.”

“But If We Cure It We Can Get Around It?”

“Yes. That’s the idea.”

“Does She Really Care That Much? I Mean You Do…”

“We both do, but she wears her heart on her sleeve. While she would go nuts... I just have nightmares instead. Even being able to control time as I do and undo the event.. It doesn’t undo what we witnessed for us.”

“Is That Why RC And Her Don’t Have Kids, Yet?”

“Actually, they do, you just probably haven’t met the twins. As far as I know, Nicole wormed her way into meetings until she got pregnant. After that, RC insisted one of them stay home and she agreed that she would watch them while he was at meetings and then they would switch so she could have some time to herself after he came back from said meetings. At least, that’s the deal they’ve had as far as I know. The twins are a handful, but very wonderfully bright children.” 

“Wow, I Didn’t Think They Could Have Kids That Fast.”

Aria chuckled in amusement.

“When you do, be prepared to field a lot of questions about yourself. The twins are actually hmmm... you know I’m not sure exactly, but I do remember she knew she was going to have a child not long after the incident with Dream and Nightmare.. So... they’re about... hmmm... five years old. Roughly speaking. I’m not good with dates, that’s why I put everything into my phone or I might forget my own birthday.” 

“Wait! They Have Five Year Old Kids? But RC Just Talked About Having One.”

“Hmm... “ Aria considered the matter. She then accessed the Code to try and figure out the answer to this.

“You Saying That RC Is Pregnant?”

“Heh, no. He’s not. Ah, I see the issue... Well, that explains a few things. Let me amend what I said... Nicole will have a single child, who, once that child is seven, will then have twin siblings. That little sneak jumped backwards in time and did not inform me. Nor did I realize this. Sorry, time shenanigans. She loves playing pranks, I’m pretty sure she did this on purpose.” 

“What?”

“Okay... let me try and explain.” She pulled out a white board and marker from the air, the marker was blue. She drew a somewhat straight line.

“Let’s say this line represents time.”

“So Far I Understand That.”  She made a line vertically through it. Then made a second one way towards the opposing end.

“This little line,” She pointed to the first line.

“represents the present time that you and I are in. Still with me?”

“Go Present! Yeah Us! You Know Why They Call It The Present Because It Is A Gift!”

“Okay, now this one here, represents a time we haven't come to yet. The future.” 

“Makes Sense.”

“Aside from red souls, normally this line is how time flows for everyone;however, there are some exceptions.” She tossed the blue marker up, it disappeared and she pulled out a green one from the air instead.

“Some souls, like myself, have the ability to move along time at will. Rather than just going in one straight line. Being a Creator, Nicole has this ability as well. All Creators, with the correct knowledge, can go to any point along this timeline, be it the future, the past or the present. Still with me?” She’d marked a green dot at the future line. 

“If I Understand What You Are Saying Then The Child Is A Creator As Well?”

“That I don’t know. Yet. This green dot represents Nicole in the future. Being one who likes to pull pranks, she took her family, from that time... which does not exist yet here in the present... and came back in time. To visit me a few days ago.” 

“Oh… I Thought The Child- Okay, I Understand Now.”

“Just Nikki being Nikki. The future her is probably laughing her butt off about now.” She tossed both the marker and white board aside and they disappeared.

“That Is Good News.”

“It is.” 

“I Wonder What The Future Holds For Me. I Bet I Become The Best Dancer!”

“You already are Sans, you just need to decide to hit the stage. Your future is what you decide. I can’t tell you what it is because I don’t know. I could read the Code to find out, but ya know... it’s better to not know and watch to see what you will do. I try not to ask things like that of the Code. Mostly because it’s more fun to be in the present and experience it then to read what will happen. Unless I think there is trouble, I don’t use the Code for anything like that. You know... come to think of it... if you want to actually hit the stage with me and Foxtrot... I bet that would get the news crews off Chara’s back.” 

“I Would Love To Help But… We Should Wait Until After A Week. I Want Papyrus To Give One Lesson To Chara But He Has His Heat.” Aria nods.

“What we can do now is head the news crews off by announcing there will be a better story... and I know just who to contact in order to make that happen.” She pulled out her phone and dialed Tango’s number.

“Hello beautiful beings. I hijacked my love's phone.” Mettaton says while Tango laughs in the background.

“Hello Mettaton. I guess I can talk to you since this involves you too. Might want to put me on speaker so he can hear though.” 

“You Are On Speaker Random Being.”

“Darling it is Aria. I can recognize that beautiful voice from anywhere.” Mettaton says with a bit of a tease.

“Hey Tango. Been a while, still the flirt as always Mettaton. So here’s the thing, I need a bit of a favor that you two can help with.” 

“Is It A Fashion Show For My Sweetie?”

“You wish.” Aria laughs.

“But Mettaton will likely have fun with the costumes we’ll need. Here’s the deal, I’m here with Salsa, we’re trying to help Chara and Raps stop being closet dorks, but to do that we need to get the media off Chara first. Salsa and I are willing to do a spotlight dance as Salsa wants to hit the stage and attempt a career in the spotlight. This is where you two come in, Metta, your sense of fashion will provide the best costumes - naturally - and you can get us media coverage before the event even happens, thus taking the eyes off Chara quickly. As for you, Tango, I need you to talk your brother into helping.” 

“That Will Be A Task But I Think I Can Do It.”

“I have faith you can convince him and Frisk that he’s just helping promote Salsa and not actually returning to the stage himself. He and I will be support dancers for Salsa.” 

“I Think If That Is The Case He Would Be For It.”

“That’s the idea, thing is I don’t think Frisk would be as willing to hear such from me as she would from you... she’s... difficult in terms of talking to strangers and despite that I brought her here originally, she doesn’t remember me.” 

“Don’t worry sweetheart I won’t let you down.”

“We appreciate you doin’ this. I have faith you’ll do it. Also, the time frame for the debut is in three weeks. That will give us time to get everything together. Also, the place will be Echo Park. I’ll let you know what time when I have that detail.” 

“Sounds Good. It Will Give Me Time To Talk To My Brother And Hopefully He Will Make It Easy On Us.”

“I have faith in you both. Talk to you soon and don’t forget to text me some time when you have some free time. I can’t always take a call but I can always answer a text.”

“See yah darling. I will send you pics of our pooch. It is a cutie.” 

“Definitely need to see that, look forward to it. Bye.” She hung up then looked at Salsa.

“We should be good, knowing Tango he’ll get a hold of his brother in the next 24 - 48 hours and we’ll be able to meet to figure out the routine.” 

“Since We Are By Ourselves… Is Papyrus Okay? He Seems So Distant Lately.”  Aria seemed contemplative.

“From what I can tell... despite having escaped your world to be here... things have gotten worse for him. The past is something he is struggling to get away from and unfortunately I do not think he has been kind to himself despite that the others have been accepting. There are things he struggles with that he hasn’t told you about because he can’t bear to speak of it - even to those who already know.” 

“Will Chara Be Able To Help Him? I Am Just Worried About Him. If Making A Friend Will Help Him I Will Help Him Make A Friend.”

“I think she will help him be who he is supposed to be.”

“Then I Am Glad I Asked Her To Be My Roommate. It Is Getting Late. I Better Teach You Some Dance Lessons If We Are Ever Going To Do That Dance.”

“Before the rest of the class gets here anyway. I’ll show you what I know as a trade off and maybe it will spark some ideas for your first showcase. We should have at least three.”

“That Will Be Great!” Aria nodded and the two worked for the next half hour before the students showed up for the class.

  
  
  
  
  


Chara worked hard on the project all week. She got a few little lessons from Salsa on some basics but overall she didn’t learn much. Salsa, was preparing to set it up so that when Raps came back from his heat that he would take over. Salsa avoided telling Chara about where Raps was. He had no idea, for the moment, how wiped his brother was going to be at the end of the week. It was a bad week for Raps, when he came out it was two days after the heat ended and he looked like he was exhausted still.

“Oh There You Are Brother!”

“hey.” He gave Sans a faint smile. Even with all the sleeping he had done, it wasn’t really restful.

“That Chara Is Struggling With Her Moves. Will You Try To Help Her?” Chara was in the lab at that time so she didn’t even hear this.

“I Basically Keep Her In The Lab As She Struggles Far Too Much.”

“what? i thought she was doing so well when you were dancing before hand, is she having trouble with something more complex?” Raps seemed confused, Chara had done at least a decent job a week ago... why was she struggling? 

“She Stumbles And Trips. Will You Try? For Me.” Raps sighed.

“yeah, sure.” He made his way to the labs. Chara was practicing a simple tango by using one of those floor mat steps she bought herself. It wasn’t working very well. He watched her for a moment from the doorway.

“One two three… one two t-three..” Chara stumbled over the sheet. His magic caught her to keep her from face planting.

“Woah… thanks… Papyrus you are back!” She said after regaining her balance.

“rule two of dancing, don’t use the sheets unless you’re an experienced stepper. and yeah, i am.” He released her from his magic the moment she was steady on her own feet.

“Are you okay? You disappeared for a week.” 

“i’m tired, but fine.” His magic gathered the paper sheets and set them out of the way in a neat stack. He walked over to her and settled into a dance position, taking one of her hands, his other lightly settling at her waist. There was an instant flush on her face as she didn’t expect this at all.

“now, follow my lead okay?” He said and gently pushed her from one step into the other of the simple tango. He knew the steps by heart, because it was his brother’s style... and he knew more complex ones too. This one was a mix of a waltz but the steps were not of the same type to be a waltz.

“W-wow… you are g-good.” Her face felt warm and her heart was starting to race.

“comes from dancing with sans. the different types of tango and salsa dances are his specialty.” 

“He tried to… I am clumsy and I think I frustrated him.”

“he told me and you aren’t clumsy, he just doesn’t realize that sometimes you have to go back to the most basic of basics. The first rule of dance is that you dance from the soul. The second, don’t use the sheets, the third, keep your eyes on your partner to make the connection with them.... er... i kinda fudged up the fourth rule... which is remember manners.” She looked up to meet his eye lights and smiled.

“You are doing fine. I feel like I am floating on air.” That echoed from the last time they danced.

“heh, well actually you’re supposed to bow before you dance... as a sign of respect for the soul... dance is an expression of the soul and most would take offense if you didn’t offer such as a way of inviting the other to dance; most are willing, but some will refuse.”

“Then allow me to rectify this.” Chara backed up and curtsied.  He chuckled a little, doing a similar gesture, however, for males it was a bow with the right hand extended, as that was usually the lead hand. She took his hand and with ease fell into position.  He guided her back into the dance, though at a slightly faster pace than previously. There was no music but she hummed a song to dance to. The song was “Once Upon A Dream.”  He chuckled a little at this, he knew the song and switched gears into a simple waltz. He knew the tune, he had heard it before because his brother had discovered the Disney store once when they had visited with Classic in the mall of that sector and that song had been playing along with a variety of other random songs from different movies. His brother had been enchanted with the song because it included dancing and had insisted upon getting the movie JUST for that purpose. Raps had found it amusing but had humored his brother. There were a number of other movies they had for the same reason. It had expanded their knowledge on dance. Somewhere in the middle of the song she rested her head against his chest and just let him take full control as she hummed the music. She was so content to be there in his arms and swaying to the music.

He gently guided her around the room, for the moment, unaware of what was really happening as he did so. He should have known from the first time he had held her close and they had danced... but he hadn’t. Even now as they shared a perfect dance, he did not recognize it for what it was... but something in his magic did. Something he wasn’t consciously aware of just yet as they glided around the room. At some point, he’d begun to quietly sing along with the melody. His voice was a soft alto, so it didn’t perfectly fit the song, but it wasn’t the worst either. She joined in. She might not have been the best singer either but together they made sweet music.  Time flew and neither of them realized how much time past until there was a knock on the door. It seemed to break the trance. Raps paused and then let go.

“guess we’ve been practicing a while now.” 

“It is o-okay… I liked our practice.” Chara flushed.

“probably time to eat.” He smiled a little.

“Supper! I Made Enchiladas.”

“we’re comin’ bro.” He called back.

“we’ll have to practice again later.” 

“I would like that a lot.”

“and remember to stay away from those sheets.” He said before he turned to the door and headed out.

“I don’t know those sheets got you to hold me.” Chara muttered to herself. Raps headed into the living room.

“smells good bro. all that instruction is hard work. i think i’m gonna need a nap soon.”

“Papyrus! You Actually Got Her To Learn The Two Step?”


	16. Chapter 16

“she needed a literal guide to puppet her, but yeah. wasn’t hard... then she changed the beat on me and we did a bit of a waltz too. nothing overly complex.” 

“A Waltz? I Guess That Is A Good One To Do.” Chara came downstairs and smiled at the brothers and took a seat.

“I Heard My Brother Succeed At What I Failed To Do. Congrats Learning How To Dance.”

“she knows the song once upon a dream, you should know that one by heart now too seein’ as you bought the movie just for that dance.” Raps chuckled as he settled down to eat.

“That Is A Great Song!” Salsa took Chara’s hand and tried to do the waltz with her but it wasn’t the same. It was missing something. It was just off a little bit. She smiled and tried to keep up.

“see? she can dance just fine now, if you slow down, waltzes aren’t meant to be  _ that _ fast bro.” Raps chuckled, watching the two.

“Fast Dances Are The Best!”

“yeah, but you know when you dance that you have to accommodate for your partner... and you forgot rule four... as i did earlier. that’s a terrible habit for us both. we need to not do that or we could offend someone.” 

“Oh Sorry Chara.” That was a slight mistake on his part and he did a quick bow, accidentally hitting his forehead against her jaw.

“Ow… it is fine. Let’s just eat.”

“You Two Been Practicing For Hours I Imagine You Will Be Hungry.”

“definitely. speaking of, you and i obviously need the practice as well so we can break that bad habit.” 

“Y-you Want To…” Salsa’s eyes started to tear up.

“if you’re going to make a career of it eventually, can’t have you forgetting the basics.” Salsa made his way over to Raps and wrapped his arms around him sobbing.

“I Won’t Let You Down. I Miss Dancing With You.” Raps smiled a little and hugged him back.

“i’m sorry.” He muttered quietly.

“Don’t Be. I Am Just Glad You Want To Dance Now.”

“i never should have let it come between us.” He smiled a little.

“if you want we can do a short session after we eat.” Salsa’s eye lights gleamed and food flew as he shoved as much food into his mouth and with a full mouth said.

“Une.” Which in reality meant “done.”

“I think he is excited.” Chara commented on the obvious.

“pff, don’t eat the plate too bro.” Raps said as they settled into the meal.

“also... swallow first so i can understand you.” He almost wanted to laugh at his brother’s excitement, it had been a while since he’d seen his brother this excited for something. There was also a twinge of guilt though too, as he realized he’d let his demons drive a wedge between him and his brother that he had never meant to be there. Chara reached over and lightly petted Raps’ hand. She wasn’t sure what they were and didn’t want to make things awkward. He just smiled a little and finished his own food. 

“if you want you can watch.” He used a bit of magic to move things around in the living room for more space.

“You Will Allow Others…” Salsa was so excited.

“well, her anyway, you can learn from watching and she wants to learn. so no reason not to. i trust her to not tell anyone. besides, this will show her how a dance with a monster partner is usually done. it’s a bit different from human tradition, since normally they pick just one dance at a time rather than what we do outside of teaching.” 

“Yes! Smart Idea Brother!” Salsa was beyond excited and stretched a bit before bowing to Raps. Chara took a seat on the couch after helping Raps clean a spot for the two to dance. As the two monsters had faced each other, both of them had bowed, Raps had set up some fast paced music for them both. Naturally, Sans made the first moves to the music, Papyrus followed with the beats, though his style was completely different from his brother’s, the movements still matched the music and the two circled around one another as the music played and then both shifted styles, mimicking movements the other had done previously before the two styles seemed to merge with one another as they danced. It wasn’t a perfect mesh because, even though they were brothers, a perfect dance only happened - so it was said - between mates.

Like Chara’s dance earlier, with Sans, it wasn’t perfect but it was still very well done as the two were nearly in perfect sync with one another as the music ended. Raps felt his soul warming slightly from the dance. Like with Foxtrot and those from his world, both Raps and Salsa needed dance in their lives to maintain their soul’s health. That was one reason why Foxtrot had been able to convince Raps to dance with him; one of several anyway. 

The dance was mesmerizing to Chara as she watched the two. Her eyes fixated on the movements. It seemed so familiar but she didn’t know why. She ignored that sense of deja vu and tried to memorize the movements. The moment the two stopped dancing Chara stood up and gave them a standing ovation.

“That was amazing!” Chara exclaimed. Raps flushed slightly.

“Let’s Bow Brother! For The Audience.” Salsa bowed towards Chara with a huge grin. Raps chuckled, but followed his brother’s lead.

“Encore! Encore!” Chara cheered.

“Encore? What Is That? Is That A Special Dance Move?”

“heh, no bro, it’s what someone says when they want you to perform more than you have planned. which is why you should always have a back up.” 

“I Never Need A Backup With You Brother!” 

“heh, true, but if you plan to perform on stage it’ll be useful.” He went over to the phone and tapped it for a different song, something a little more his own style this time. 

“Woohoo! Shake those boney butts!” Chara cheered as she took her seat again. Raps couldn’t help but be amused as he went back over to his brother for a second dance. It was a pretty fast paced dance with a bit of improvised moves that had a salsa feel to it. Raps kept pace, and like before the two styles almost seamlessly melted as the two danced to the beat. It was like they’d always danced together and had never really done anything else. When they finished dancing Raps saw how happy his brother was. 

“We Will Be Here All Week!” Salsa was beaming and Raps could see Salsa’s soul glow lightly through his shirt. Chara took out her phone and used an app with sound effects to play an audience cheering. She set her phone down to let it continue as she applauded as well.

“heh, nice touch. i think i need a drink now. that’s a lot of work in a short time.” He headed to the kitchen. Chara stayed behind and was talking to Salsa.

“So How Did We Do?”

“It was amazing! It was beautiful and mesmerizing. Oh it was beyond any words I can think of to give it the gratitude it deserves. I wish I could have recorded that and posted it.” 

“It Would Have Been Better Than The One You Posted!” Raps came out of the kitchen about that time and nearly choked. Why had his brother have to go and say a thing like that? He managed to swallow and not cough. 

“Y-yeah… I guess so.” Chara still felt obligated to apologize to the video she didn’t remember.

“those headaches still giving you trouble?” Raps asked, trying to change the subject.

“I met with Aria and she healed my headache. She told me that someone did something to me but she didn’t tell me what.”

“that right?” He didn’t admit he knew it.

“Yeah, she amended it so that I won’t get headaches. I figured it had to do with something I wasn’t supposed to remember is what caused the headaches.”

“Did You Hear All Those Compliments? She Said We Danced Amazingly!”

“well you are the best bro, so of course she’d enjoy it.” Raps replied.

“I thought both of you were amazing. I could watch you two for hours.” Chara said dreamily. 

“Look At Her Already Falling For Me And My Seductive Moves.”

“heh, i told ya.” Raps replied and settled down with his drink.

“Hehe… nah you guys are just my friends. I should get back to work.”

“how’s that going so far?” 

“It is going good but…” Chara has a roadblock that she couldn’t figure out.

“but? what’s the catch?” He took a sip of his drink as he listened.

“Well, I am stuck. It is missing something.”

“i thought you had all the ingredients.” 

“According to my results it only works temporarily. I need something more permanent.”

“permanent? like... an energy source or... what?” He seemed thoughtful as he considered what could be.

“I d-don’t know if I can do it.” Chara admits. She couldn’t look him in the eye lights as she head towards the lab.

“What The World Is Bothering Her?” 

“i don’t know. i’m going to find out.” He murmured and went after her, leaving the empty glass behind. She was standing in front of a white board. Where there was a possible solution. It involved manipulating a soul. She did this in her last life and she swore she would never do this again.  He didn’t say anything at first. She erased the solution and sighed. He put a hand on her shoulder gently. She gasped surprised someone was behind her.

“R-raps.. I didn’t t-think you would come here.” He didn’t say anything, instead he picked up the marker and went to the formula, he added a variable to it. One he knew was vital to the formula to making it do anything useful.

“W-what if this f-fails? Everyone is c-counting on me.” 

“won’t be the first time i did something wrong.” He studied the board a moment then moved off to the side and began doing some calculations. He then moved over to the end of the formula and added the answer. 

“I d-don’t think you did half the stuff I d-did though.” 

“yeah? well i can tell you right now there’s only three souls in existence that even know this formula at all and there’s not that many ways to learn it.” 

“I see. Is that why you avoid the labs?” 

“yeah.” He put the cap on the marker.

“I v-vowed after what I d-did to all those souls that I w-would amend my life to d-do good. I did a lot of b-bad things.”

“guess we’re not so different.” He set the marker down and fished out his phone, he flipped through it before hitting play and gently took her hand, giving a slight bow before tugging her close as the Carousel Waltz played. It wasn’t a long song, but it was long enough. She rested her head against his chest.

“What if … I ruin my second chance?” Chara muttered, revealing one of her ultimate fears.

“and what if this your chance at redemption?” He asked softly as he gently twirled her before pulling her back as the song came to a close. He didn’t release her.

“I hate to break it to you Papyrus but I am not that lucky.” 

“what does luck have to do with anything?” One hand shifted to lightly comb through her hair. She flushed as she didn’t expect him to treat her so kindly. 

“I g-guess nothing if the f-formula is right.” 

“sometimes, all we need is a little faith.” 

“You seem d-different. Did that vacation help?”

“i think so, i feel more myself now than i was before.” 

“That is good. I am glad your vacation went well.” Chara wrapped her arms around him and embraced him. Only his brother would know that her being this close to him was unusual.

“Please have enough faith for the both of us. I am… genuinely scared I will screw this up.”

“regardless of the outcome... i’ll still be here if you need me.” He replied softly. She was so fragile... and yet, not. It was like a moth that was drawn to the flame. Dangerous, but alluring nonetheless.

“Y-your family has been so nice to me. I am so fortunate. Your brother offered me a room for me to move into and I took him up on that offer. H-hope you don’t mind.” 

“not at all.”

“I s-should g-get back to w-work. Would you like to k-keep me company.” Chara slowly moved back before pausing and smiled up at him. 

“i’ll help if ya need it.” 

“If you feel uncomfortable I will understand. I understood before too.”

“i think i’m good.” 

“Shall we partner?” Chara gently took his hand and guided him to the microscope.

“Let’s see if we can do this right.” 

“sure.” He smiled and followed her.

“Don’t freak out but I use my soul for determination as I don’t want to rely on others. If I hurt myself it is all my fault.” 

“alright. just try not to hurt yourself. i ain’t that kind of a doctor.” Chara started to chuckle.

“You a love doctor? If so can you find me that someone special?” Chara joked as she took out her soul from her chest. She took a bit of determination and placed it into a container.

“pff, where did you get that from?” He meant the joke, not the determination.

“I work with a bunch of Alphyses and Undynes so obviously it came from a random bum around the street.” Chara joked as she put her soul back into her chest. 

“I know that was a lame joke.” It was nice to talk to someone while doing lab work. 

“didn’t know one of them was called ‘random bum’ point that one out next time eh?” He grinned.

“I will.” Chara joked back with a smile.

“May I a-ask you a question?”

“sure.” 

“W-will you t-teach me how to dance?” 

“well, i don’t know what i need to really teach you but sure.” 

“It just feels… easier with you.” Chara couldn’t figure out how, she liked it. She tried to keep herself distracted by looking through the microscope even though it wasn’t on.

“i see.” 

“I f-forgot to t-turn on the- I should get a sample first.” Chara put a bit of her formula on a microscope slide and put it under the microscope. She turned it on and looked at the determination.

“W-want to take a look at the before and then the after I add the corruption?” 

“probably a good idea.” He took a look under the microscope to get an idea of the base. 

“I am going to grab the corruption. Are you wearing some- oh that is right you said you are okay with corruption.” 

“yeah... with some things that happened in the past... i’m immune to the corruption.” 


	17. Chapter 17

“I was LVL 20.” Chara said, bringing over a small vial. 

“oh?” 

“I experimented on the souls and then destroyed them after I fully took everything they were out of them. It only went to 20 but… if it could go farther I imagine it would have.” 

“sounds like what i did. you stopped after twenty, but it does go higher.” 

“It just showed error after 20 for me. You?” 

“i don’t really know, i lost track after i hit 21. you have to really go through a lot of souls to get past twenty honestly.” 

“I used my determination for the wrong reason. I thought I was trying to do the right thing.” 

“i thought i was doing the wrong thing for the right reason.... didn’t turn out to be true.” 

“I know this sounds awful but… it is nice to meet someone like me.” She added the corruption to the slide and put it under the microscope. 

“makes the world less lonely.” 

“It does.” The formula seemed to be working but the only problem was it was lacking just a bit of something.

“How does it look?” He looked into the microscope a second time, it seemed to work... but only for a short time. 

“hmmm, like you said... it doesn’t stick for long.. maybe... what we need is a different trait. the trait of determination is to persist regardless of the obstacle... but in this case, what if that trait and the corruption is like the riddle about the immovable object and the unstoppable force?” 

“What you are saying is something that can stop one side.” 

“not necessarily, but something that might be able to get around the corruption. the other side of the coin of determination... perseverance. the one difference between those two traits... perseverance goes around an obstacle instead of trying the same path over and over until the other force gives up.” 

“Alright. Now we need someone with perseverance. I can contact Dream, maybe he knows someone with perseverance. I had some in the labs but I don’t have any on me.” 

“well, we can either get it... or ask for some.”

“I don’t want to go outside.” 

“well, i can try the lab first then, if that’s a no go... i’ll ask the local soul.” 

“You know a perseverance soul?” 

“kinda. i’ll head to the lab tomorrow and see if i can get some, it’s kinda late now, we should get some sleep.” 

“Oh… I lost track of time. Yes, let’s go to bed. It is good to have you back. I am glad you are feeling better.” Chara yawned and smiled. 

“yeah, i’ll see you in the morning.” He smiled and headed out of the lab and off to his room. Chara left the lab and closed the door to close the lab. She went to her bed and smiled. It was good to have him back.That night she had sweet dreams of dancing with Raps. He, meanwhile, was wondering why he couldn’t shake the thought of the dance they’d shared alone in the lab... 

The next morning Chara was humming to herself as she made breakfast.

“You Are Up Before Me? What Is Wrong With You?” Chara shrugged.

“I am just in a good mood.” 

“we made a discovery on the project... so i can’t blame her.” Raps said when he entered the kitchen.

“Morning Raps!” Chara twirled and placed the pancakes on the table. 

“morning’ chara, sans.” 

“She Has Been Dancing All Over The Kitchen. She Even Twirled Me Earlier. Is This Normal For Excited Humans?” 

“yeah bro, that’s normal; not that i can say i’ve seen one do it.” Chara went up to Raps and took his hand having him hold her in place as she spun around. She chuckled just having a good time.

“well... can’t say that no more can i?” He chuckled.

“Nope, now you even danced with an excited one too.” Chara moved and Salsa took her by the hand and began to do a salsa dance with her. Raps chuckled a little, sitting at the table, he was hungry. Plus he always enjoyed seeing his brother dance for fun, which Salsa hadn’t done quite so often since he had taken that job at the studio with some monsters from dancetale and just some monsters who liked to dance. Chara moved back and shimmied a little bit doing her own thing and Salsa gave her an odd look.

“That Isn’t An Appropriate Dance.”

“but what if it’s her style bro? ya can’t deny a soul their dance style.” 

“That Is Not Anyone’s Style.” Chara just chuckled and just started to do the twist. 

“Pick A Style!!!” 

“My style is anything I decide.” Chara said as she finished plating the table. 

“I hope you like pancakes, eggs, and bacon.”

“You Forgot The Salsa.” 

“she’s got a point there bro, humans do things differently than we do; they aren’t born knowing their dance like we are. they choose it. same with choosing what to cook. thanks for making breakfast by the way.” 

“That … Is… CRAZY!!!” Raps just shrugged and ate his breakfast.

“Do you like breakfast?”

“it’s good, thanks, and besides bro... there’s worse types of dance than what she did.” He smirked a little. He was clearly ribbing his brother over it. 

“W-What Do You Mean?” 

“I could do this.” Chara did the bus driver and the sprinkler.

“pff... that isn’t what i meant.” 

“What do you mean?” Chara was now confused.

“He Is Teasing Me About My Salsa Dancing.”

“It is just a little teasing. Please, sit down and enjoy the breakfast.” Salsa sat down and began to eat. 

“Can You Grab Me My Salsa From The Refrigerator?” Chara nodded and left to get the salsa for him. That wasn’t what he’d meant at all, but he’d leave it.

“Is She Acting Weird?” 

“not that i know of.” 

“Shhh… She Is Coming.” Chara brought over the salsa and placed it in front of him and proceeded to eat her breakfast.

“After breakfast I am going back to my lab. Later on Raps will you practice with me?”

“yeah, i will swing by the labs, see if i can’t pick up those supplies.” 

“Wait, You Are…” Salsa gave his brother a confused look and didn’t ask anything until Chara finished her breakfast and went upstairs.

“Working In A Lab? Did Something Happened To You? Are You Feeling Okay?” 

“i’m fine, our doctor here just needs some things that the portable lab doesn’t have.” 

“Oh… Okay. I Am Just Worried For You.”

“why?” He gave his brother a funny look.

“I Know What Labs … Mean To Us.”

“yeah, but it doesn’t mean i’m scared to be in one.” 

“I Know We Don’t Talk About Hope Because Of It Too.” Salsa hoped he didn’t go too far. He glanced at Raps expecting him to explode or even worse just walk away. Raps, instead, said nothing, simply ate his meal... he’d already told Chara about Hope... sort of. Maybe if this had happened a week or so ago he’d be mad at Sans... maybe even just leave the room... but it didn’t seem to bother him. At least not today. Once he finished he put his plate up.

“i’ll see you both later k?” He then shortcut off to the lab. While at the lab trying to find Dr. Mews he couldn’t help but overhear Dr. Gaster ranting to one of the lab tenants.

*She is supposed to be here and she is making trashy videos and now having the public’s eye on her she finally goes into hiding.

“don’t you have some errands to be running  _ intern _ ?” Raps interrupted. He gave Gaster a flat stare as if to say ‘you’re already in trouble, do you really want things to be worse?’ 

*Oh, it is you. I can’t speak my *fart sounds* mind now?

“not when your thoughts are slandering others, no.” 

*You think I am slandering her? I am telling just purely facts. 

“saying she makes ‘trashy videos’ is slander gaster. you aren’t that stupid, stop acting like it and get to work. if you have time to voice your ‘opinoin’ you clearly don’t have enough work to do and i am sure i can find some for you.” 

*Go *fart sound* yourself.

Gaster left flipping him off.

*Why do you care? She is just trying to get all the attention on herself.

Rap pulled out his phone and made a note to hq to a slight dock in pay for not performing work, talking back to an authority and slandering a co-worker. Gaster was going to learn the hard way, apparently, how to be a monster rather than what ever he currently was. He then turned to the other Gaster had been talking to.

“now then, do you know where i can find dr. mews?” 

*You can find her in the labs. She has been trying to figure out the corruption thing.

“more specific if you please there are many labs in the labratory.” 

*Lab 304. The one with the original corrupted soul is. We have to maintain it.” 

“got it, thanks.” He headed off to find her. 

*Good luck.

“thanks.”

  
  
  


Dr. Mew looked stressed out as she was trying to do the same amount of work as 10 scientists. It has been a long week and on top of it she was trying to figure out the formula and what was wrong with it. She couldn’t understand why Alphy’s formula was wrong.

“hey, what are you up to?” 

“T-trying to implement the f-formula A-alphys g-gave us before the c-craziness happened.” 

“don’t. that formula isn’t the original. the original thesis should be up now on the main site.”

“G-great… j-just f-fucking… okay.” Dr. Mew sighed it was a long week.

“calm down.” 

“It has been s-stressful being down s-so many scientists.” Dr. Mew sighed with a slight sweatdrop.

“P-plus, I have no i-idea where Dr. Chara has been and the other s-scientists are a little upset.” 

“first off, dr. chara has been refining her formula while chillin’ with my brother and i between working hard to get it right so you can implement it. the lack of scientists can’t be helped and, look at it this way, you’ll have a bit more grant money to work with because they aren’t gonna be paid to sit in those tubes. their own stupidity is gonna cost ‘em.”

“I know y-you are trying to h-help me see the b-bright side but you c-can at least understand my e-exhaustion.” 

“yeah, well, if this thing works... then you’ll have one less worry. i just dropped by because we need a bit of perseverance.” 

“W-we don’t h-have a lot s-so… w-what I g-give you is n-not to be wasted.” 

“it won’t be. if it works then i’ll report back to you and contact someone i know who happens to be a purple soul so we can cure everyone.” 

“A-alright. Please, w-wait right here.” Dr. Mew left and went to retrieve the purple soul. After a few minutes she returned with a test tube full of perseverance. 

“H-here you g-go. This is a-all I can afford to g-give you.” He was careful to put it into his phone for safe keeping.

“thanks. if this works then you’ll have full staff again in no time.” 

“I h-hope you are r-right. C-can you ask C-chara to c-call us next time she d-decides to w-work outside of the l-lab.” 

“me too. i’m sure i can relay the message though i kinda kidnapped her from the lab so... wasn’t really her fault. you know how persuasive my brother can be, especially when he makes his chocolate dessert. try not to stress too much. i’ll catch ya later.” As he headed off, Dr. Mews got a text from her girlfriend.... 

“K-kidnapped her?” She called after him. 

“pff, not literally mind ya.” He tossed her a grin and turned a corner and was gone.

CuteLizard: Hey punk! Seems like your plan worked... at least according to Sans! You really are a genius!

DrMew: My p-plan?” 

CuteLizard: What? You don’t remember? You told me you were helping that Chara chick on her date!

DrMew: Who w-was it? D-did Sans t-tell you who it was he was d-dating?

CuteLizard: No. I forgot to ask! Ha! I’ll have to do that next time I see him!

DrMew: Yes! I k-knew hours of my f-favorite anime taught me a t-thing or two in fashion.

CuteLizard: Too right! Hey, you free this weekend?

DrMew: If t-the cure w-works yes.

CuteLizard: Great! We can hang out then! Let me know what happens that way we can make plans to celebrate when it does!

DrMew: S-sounds good!

  
  


At the home Chara was working on the experiment. She was unaware of all the rumors that were happening. Raps landed in the living room, he’d no idea either; he headed for the portable lab rapping on the door. He didn’t want to risk spooking her. A thought occurred to him and he pulled out his phone to shoot off a text to Nicole.

Raps: you can duplicate things, right?

Nicole: Yeah, why?

Nicole: Look I know you love yourself but if you plan to make me a doppelganger of you X3 well… you might cross some lines. 

Raps: wow. you have waaaaaaaaaaaay too much faint in narcissism. no, i wanted to know cuz we have some limited resources and if we manage the cure i wanna make sure you can just duplicate it. 

Nicole: Oh yeah I can. I don’t have too many abilities right now but I can still do basics.

Raps: good to know. 


	18. Chapter 18

Nicole: How are things? Is the cure coming along well?

Raps: we are in the process of testing, so far, negative. but we’re hopeful.

Nicole: Just let me know if you need anything. If I can’t do it I will ask Aria or RC to help okay?

Raps: will do.

  
  


Chara was snickering as she put up the final touches on the prank. She was setting up a paint container she found in the house. Little did she know that Raps was coming in the same time she was up on her ladder causing the ladder to fall over and her falling. 

“whoa there.” He said as he caught her, steadying them both at the same time though the ladder still crashed to the floor with the paint following suit sending orange paint all over them both.

“W-well… t-that failed.” 

“orange you glad i came around the corner?” He asked with a chuckle.

“Pffff… yes I am.” 

“let’s get cleaned up.” He carried her off to the bathroom and set her down in the bathroom before leaving the room. She flushed as she didn’t expect him to take her all the way to the bathroom. Nor, did she expect him to carry her like that. She stripped off the painted clothes and took a shower.  While she was in there he tugged off his hoodie and pants, tossing them into the laundry basket and found some shorts to go with the black tank top. He then found some new clothes for them both and rapped on the door.

“Come in.” Chara had a beach towel wrapped around her body covering her. She opened the door with a smile not really grasping how this could be taken. Raps handed her the clothes without a word before heading back towards his room, trying hard to keep his thoughts under control...  _ don’t read into it. you’re just friends remember? no big deal...  _

“Thank you!” Chara yelled out of the room before it dawned on her what she did and began to wander if he thought less of her. Even worse, why didn’t he react at all. She had no idea... Only when he thought he could be certain she was finally out of the bathroom did he slip into the room himself to take a shower. A long, cold one.

She went back to the lab to clean up the mess, cursing herself for even attempting the prank and more so for thinking they were more than what he claimed they were. He said it himself that they were just friends.  _ Stop thinking about it. You are fine. Just be happy to have him as a friend.  _

After an hour in the water, and dressed in an orange t-shirt and khakis, he snagged his dirty laundry, fished out his phone from the soiled hoodie and started a load of laundry before heading to the lab. He still had to give her the vial.

“S-sorry about earlier. It was a dumb prank.” 

“it’s fine, but i got what we needed.” He pulled out the vial and handed it over.

“Yes! Now let’s add it to the formula and pray.” Chara took the vial and add a drop to the concoction she made earlier. He nodded, watching her work.

“I will l-let you do the honors of adding the corruption. I am so nervous.” Chara offered the vial of corruption to Raps. He nodded and added a tiny drop to the slide next to the new formula. He the put the small slide beneath the microscope once he’d put the slip over it to cover the small sample.

“If it works you are buying me a drink. If it doesn’t I will buy you a drink. Deal?”

“deal, i’ll also have to call dr. mews if it works. also, maybe give it a day to work before we check it... just in case it’s not instantaneous.” 

“Yes, t-that is a good idea.” Chara peeked at the microscope and she barely saw a reaction.

“I h-hope it is v-very delayed…” 

“yeah, me too.” He headed out of the lab. Nothing to do but wait. She followed behind and took a small pouch out of her lab coat.

“Can I have your hand?” 

“sure, just give it back when you’re done in one piece.” He joked, popping one hand off. 

“It sounds like a bad joke waiting to happen with that.” 

“pff. kinda is.” He replied as he handed the hand over.

“Oh I can scratch my back.” Chara joked slipping his hand under her shirt. 

“you might need the whole arm for that.” The fingers of the hand proved, however, after about ten seconds. That they were still very much attached to the skeleton they belonged to... 

“Weew… I am glad you moved your fingers because I was planning to make a joke and pat your hand against my bra and accuse you being a perv.” Chara joked as she removed his hand and placed the bag of g in the palm before returning it to him.

“i wonder though if that makes me the perv since even though it’s my hand... you are the one holding it.” He looked at the bag, confused.

“I don’t know. The money is for the booze. I said I buy the drinks. You take my g and buy them and bring them back here.” 

“you got to lose the bet first.” He set the gold on the coffee table, having reattached his hand. 

“what drink did you have in mind?” 

“I wish I could go to Grillby’s. He makes the best drinks. Well, I do like long island ice teas.” 

“he does make good drinks.” 

“Also, I need my daily dance lesson too.” 

“what did you want to learn?” 

“Any kind of... oohhh sexy dance moves so I can get some guys after all this craziness is over.” 

“i know a lot of dances, but exotic ain’t one of ‘em.” 

“I mean like a flirtatious kind like the tango.” She went up to him and pretended she knew what she was doing and wrapped his arm around her back as she dipped back. He chuckled a little as he held her steady.

“See isn’t that sexy or does it seem like I am fainting?” 

“all about execution.” He replied, leaning close, but keeping just enough distance to not inadvertently kiss her.

“You are killing me.” Chara joked as she flushed deeply. 

“then i’m doin’ it right.” He replied. Her heart was pounding as she couldn’t stop glancing at his teeth wondering what it would be like to kiss them. She was about to push herself to do it when Salsa intervened.

“Oh! Is Chara Alright Or Is This A New Dance Move?”

“just some practice.” Raps pulled her up gently with him.

“you know it takes two to tango bro.”

“Hehe Now That Is Humor I Can Appreciate.” Raps smirked.

“we still need some practice though.” 

“Oh, I Can Leave You Two The House If You Need Space.” 

“don’t think we need  _ that _ much space to dance. anyway, shall we start back at the beginning again?” He had directed the last bit to Chara. Salsa left with a wave giving the two space.

“Y-yeah…” Chara felt confused. Her emotions were all over the place and she was to blame. She had to remind herself that he didn’t like her that way. He slowly drew her back into the dance, one step at a time.

“How long did it take you to master other dance moves?” Chara finally asked breaking the silence.

“several years.” He replied as he led her through the various steps.

“for monsters, only our soul-style comes naturally.” 

“You are really talented, you know that.” 

“mmm, i had to be. my family was part of the royal court. it was required that those who were be masters in many varied steps for events they were required to attend. as eldest, it was expected of me. father was the royal advisor.” 

“Wow, talk about no pressure.” Chara said sarcastically. The more they danced the more she felt at ease with him. 

“heh, it wasn’t so bad... but it was also more so expected when i was asked to take an official position of my own when i was sixteen.” 

“A scientist and a dancer. You were busy.” 

“the royal scientist.” He agreed.

“though that wasn’t the only duty i had to the crown. just one of a couple.” 

“You had more?” He only murmured a sound of agreement.

“You are just one being. I mean come on you deserve some down time too.” 

“i preferred to not have too much, because if i did it would mean being pressured to find a bride... i much preferred to be busy with matters of the crown as reason to ignore such things.” 

“Oh…”  _ He is gay. It all makes sense now.  _

“as long as i could say i was busy with matters from the royals... i could get away with not spending too much time with the suitors my parents had lined up as well as my title afforded me reason to not settle down immediately. as it was a bit of a dangerous occupation.” 

“I understand. Plus, you want someone that gets you and not just any random being can be it.”

“exactly.” He smiled. 

“I think you are still an excellent teacher.”

“you’re a good student.” 

“Tadah… oh I forgot.” Chara backed up and curtsied.

“My bad.” He chuckled.

“comes with practice.” His phone vibrated and he had to let her go. 

Nicole: 1 attachment

“huh... wonder what this is.” He pulled it out of his phone, it was a simple white envelope, when he opened it he pulled out a card with cold and black lettering:

  
  


You are cordially invited to attend the wedding of 

Charm and Emery

Thursday of July 16th of the year 20xx

  
  


“look at this.” He showed her the card.

“Uhhh… should I know who they are?” Chara had no idea who they were.

“heh, i’ve really no idea myself. well... i’ve heard charm mentioned but i don’t know them... but it’s from nicole... so must be friends of hers or something. be a good place though to put into practice what you’ve learned. plus who can turn down free food? it’s also right after bro’s stage debut.” He said the last bit thoughtfully. 

“You sure you want to invite me and not someone else for your plus one?”

“yeah, pretty sure. don’t know if bro will have company planned honestly. speaking of, you planning on going to the debut in the park? it’s in four days.” 

“Sure, will you be my plus one.” Chara joked.

“heh, yeah, i’m going.” 

“I am so happy for your brother. I know he has been spending so many extra hours practicing just for this day.”

“yeah, he’s been pretty busy with it, but it’s good for him.” Raps was so caught up in thinking about it that he’d forgotten about the slide they were waiting on.

“You know even though there is no music playing I am having the time of my life.”

“heh, that’s a song ya know.” 

  
  
  
  


Chara made a phone call the next day, well several. Her mind was thinking of ways to find her newly gay best friend a date for the wedding. Granted he invited her but he deserved a chance to find someone who will love him the way she did.

Raps had no idea about the wrong idea he’d given her, he was sitting in Muffet’s cafe when he got prodded.

“eh?”

“dude, you are a million miles away there.” Stretch said with a grin.

“uh, sorry pal. guess i got a lot on my skull. bro’s got that event this evening and i got invited to a wedding by nicole... and i don’t even know the bride or groom.” 

“want to talk about it?”

“that about sums it up, well, that and teachin’ chara ta dance. she’s a quick learner but apparently bro had trouble teachin’ her. so he asked me to ‘step’ in heh.” 

“and now?”

“what do you mean?”

“well, with that stupid grin on your face...”

“i have no idea what you mean.” 

“no idea? hmmm… okay then.”

“seriously, anyway, turns out she just needed someone who could guide her a different way. my bro is a good teacher but he’s not as hands on with it. his methods are different is all.” 

“tell me, bud, how this feels. i have a friend who is looking for a girl. can i introduce her to him?”  He gave Stretch a bit of a puzzled look.

“i guess you can if you wanna. i mean, i ain’t got no claims or nuthin.” 

“he is another red. he might get a little grabby and might tongue her a bit.”

“another? ugh... probably shouldn’t then. she ain’t that type. she’d probably yell bloody murder and knock him a good one... or at least try.”

“heh… nevermind i read it all wrong then.”

“by the way, you get an invitation to that wedding? erm... apparently someone named charm is gettin’ hitched... you don’t happen to know who that is do you?” 

“yeah, i do. short story she is a bitty originally created for sugar. you know the guy but she fell in love with dream. we both know in the end the two dream and sugar fell in love leaving charm with no one.”

“huh, wow, sounds like a mess.”

“it is. rumor has it that emery was made for her so what kind of love is that?”

“beats me. but hey, if they’re happy who are we to judge? he he... ‘sides, it means free food.” 

“true, hehe.”

“wonder who all was invited for this.” 

“sounds like the whole gang.”

“that right? hope they’re prepared for this. heh.”


	19. Chapter 19

“don’t worry it will be a small wedding. i imagine it will be short.” The grin on the skeleton’s face said it all as he smirked.

“pff... just don’t think _little_ of them for it.” 

“pfffttt... can i ask you a serious question? i've been thinking about it ever since i got that wedding invitation.” 

“they might have a _bitty_ fit... yeah, sure pal.” 

“i know we kind of laughed off the whole bitties getting created for one another being okay but it bugs me. it is like giving an artificial high just to avoid the situation.” 

“it’s one of those sort of metaphorical bullshit things... like what do you do... tell someone a truth that could hurt them.... or tell them a lie that makes ‘em smile? which is really right and who are we to say which is?” 

“a little lie is different than living with one.” 

“a little lie? isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? how many years you spend lyin’ to your brother about your position eh? the whole lot of you for that matter... shit, captain _still_ doesn’t know.” 

“it is to protect him and not make him worry.”

“so you say, but is that what you’re really doing? they’re gonna worry whether they know or not. because they love us. i just have chosen to be honest with mine because the way i see it... this whole second chance thing... should mean a change. not the same song and dance from our old lives. i ain’t sayin’ it was easy... hell, i was nervous as shit when i told him... but he accepted it like everything else. so what are the rest of you afraid of? and as i heard, you kept it until it just exploded on you and there was some real deep bullshit that coulda been avoided if you’d just been honest the moment ya got here.” Stretch audibly sighs.

“look, i was afraid. afraid of the look he would give me. i didn’t want to see the bright eyes just… he is my everything. he looked up to me… sorta.” 

“why do you think that would change? you all really think our bros are just gonna up and desert us or somethin’ ? you guys really have a whole ‘faith’ issue ya don’t ya? ain’t nuthin’ worth doin’ that don’t come with some risk. but if any of your brothers are even half the personality mine is, then you’re afraid for nuthin'. besides, i admit that i told him because i was also sick of the lies. it is a lot easier when ya don’t have to pretend like shit didn’t happen... like you didn’t just have the worst day ever. and some of ‘em are fans of us. so there ain’t too much point in not tellin’ ‘em. they are family and if you can’t trust family, who _can_ you?” He tried not to sigh, how many times had he said this since he’d ended up in the group? He’d lost count.

“hehe... you are good on changing the subject. first we were talking about bitties and it has come back on me about me and my brother.” 

“yeah... well it just kinda happens. you lot make it too easy to do, at least you listen... can’t say that for the rest of ‘em. a wonder dream wasn’t driven crazy by you bunch.” 

“they do. oh but dream… he is just annoying.” 

“dude, you’ve annoyed the shit out of him for years for no good reason. you’re one to talk. by the way, what the hell is up with you two? i mean, you’re on the same side, the hell you two fightin’ like cats and dogs for?” 

“one he was honing in on my brother when he had no attraction for him. i can’t tell you how many times i told him to pine some other tree.” 

“not what i heard. far i know he never even tried to kiss your brother so i don’t see what stick got up your ass. also, they both have mates now so you can’t use that as an excuse to be an asshole.” 

“you mean there is two sides of a story. he was just as much of a dick to me too.” 

“what did you expect when he spent half his time dealin’ with your pranks? besides, he doesn’t seem dickish to me during those meetings... but i can’t say the same for you. it’s like you’re a damn cat and he’s danglin’ cat nip and you just keep takin’ swipes every chance ya get. let it go man. heh, i heard you tried to get one over on him once too anyway and ended up gettin’ owned instead.” 

“after he and sugar got married. i tried to make amends but we just can’t see eye to eye.” 

“don’t mean ya gotta keep takin’ swipes. ya ain’t doin’ anyone any favors and who knows when his patience is gunna run out? i’d hate to see what happens when it does.” 

“i doubt he will ever go that far and nor will i. his mate might try but he won’t either.” 

“i dunno pal. didn’t everyone think that of aria and yet look what happened. we all have our limits before enough is just enough. i think you two seriously need to either talk this out or just try an’ avoid each other before this explodes.”

“fine... at the wedding. i will try _dad_. sounds good?” Stretch joked. 

“pff, i think you need to pick a better time and place, just in case things go south. but the least ya can do is arrange a time _son_.” Raps replied back, clearly joshin’ him right back. 

“pfff... too bad you will be too busy watching the entertainment that you probably won’t see all the bonding that will happen.” Stretch didn’t clarify what he meant by entertainment and left it open. 

“i dunno, i never was much for big events like this. i have no idea why they invited me.”

“i don’t know. do you know how to make small conversation? eat and possibly do embarrassing dance moves?” 

“you trying to tell me you need me to teach you to dance too?” He asked with a grin.

“hehe... well i think the real reason we are invited is because the bride and groom have no friends. according to the ex, sugar, charm is a real b.” 

“huh, well i ain’t gonna judge based on one biased opinion. ya know the old sayin’ about assumin’.” 

“you are making me assume what you are about to say. i don’t want to look like an ass if i am wrong.” 

“pff.”

“well if you decide to bring your friend with you to the wedding may i suggest go matching just so that you can find each other in case you two get lost.”

“well, it is a wedding... since we’re not part of the wedding party though i guess that shouldn’t be too hard. i’ll talk to her about it.” 

“i should head out. good luck with your crush situation.” Stretch said getting up.

“wait, what?”

“please, you are crushing so hard on this 'dance partner' of yours. tell me what color are her eyes?” Rap just shook his head.

“you’re full of it. i ain’t crushing.” 

“okay, in love with her. i will see you at the wedding.” Stretch left with a smirk on his face. Raps just sighed.

“Don’t let him bug you, sugar. He does that to everyone.” Muffet said, bringing over a bit more sweet relish for him. 

“yeah. I know. i work with the guy.”

“I will tell you a secret then. Something he thought I didn’t hear. Do you want to know the real reason he didn’t want Blue and Dream together?” Muffet said quietly coming closer.

“sure.”

“He thought for sure that the two would leave him behind and he would be left all by his lonesome.” 

“wow... that’s incredibly sad and selfish at the same time.” 

“It is. He uses his humor like a shield but it doesn’t make up for being a jerk.” 

“yeah... he’s just like the rest of them. the entire group is like that... save for like... three. guess the old sayin’ ‘birds of a feather’ is really true.” 

“It is. Look the point being don’t let him get under your skin … or lack thereof.” 

“pff, i try not to.” 

“I think you are special and you need to be treated as a equal.” 

“that’s flattering, but i can’t say i agree. i’m not really like that group... much as they might wish i was.” 

“That is a good thing. I bet you will have fun at that wedding.” 

“i hope so, worst case scenario, i at least got some free food.” 

“That is the spirit. I think you will have a great day.”

“thanks.” He looked at his phone.

“i should get going, my brother’s concert is in another two hours.” 

  
  


Chara finally found a “date” for Raps at the concert to meet with. That way it wasn’t so awkward the next day for the wedding. A fish like monster with yellow skin was hanging out with Chara when Raps got home. 

“I am looking forward to meeting your Raps you talk so fondly about.” The monster replied.

“Adonis, he is so sweet. Just be patient with him. He is shy.” Raps was waiting near the front of the stage for Chara, wondering if she was going to come. She had mentioned it. 

“There he is. RAPS!” Chara yelled as she pulled Adonis with her towards Raps.

“eh? hey chara, who’s your friend?” 

“Papyrus, this is Adonis. Adonis this is Raps or Papyrus. He is the son of and Alphys and Undyne whom I work with at the labs.”

“Charmed to meet you.” Adonis took Raps hand and kissed it gently. Raps gave the guy a smirk.

“aren’t you a charmer.” This wasn’t the first time he’d had a guy hit on him. He didn’t mind it, really, but he did want to make sure the other would know he wasn’t interested after a while.

“I am going to get some snacks.” Chara said leaving the two alone.

“I see why Chara talks so highly about you.” 

“really? i didn’t know she talked about me to others. i also didn’t know undyne and alphys had a kid. then again, i’m not that good at keepin’ track of kids that belong to others.” 

“I stay out of the limelight. I am a guard though and I am looking for a strong body to hold onto.” Adonis flirted as he skittered his hand up Rap's arm.

“that right? sorry to say i don’t have the muscle.” Rap replied jokingly.

“Don’t worry sugar, you don’t need muscles.” 

“sugar? you move a little too fast for my pace pal. even if i was interested.” 

“Chara did mention that you are shy.”

“that so?” 

“She said you are an amazing dancer and that you take her breath away with your moves. I want to experience that high one day. The way she went on and on about you. You would think she had a thing for you.” 

“why don’t you and i grab some drinks and we’ll talk eh?” Chara returned with snacks when Adonis left to grab drinks, misinterpreting what had just been said. 

“What do you think of him?”

“i think he has the wrong idea, for one, for someone who’s only met me in the last five minutes. clearly on the prowl but i ain’t on the menu.” 

“I am s-sorry. I just thought I was-”

“Welcome!” Nicole was at the microphone announcing the production.

“Tonight we have SS, Aria and our star, Salsa, performing a dance for everyone. Can I get a round of applause for them?” Chara applauded but she was clearly distracted by something else. She felt truly guilty and as Raps gave the full attention to the show she snuck out to catch her breath. Raps was clapping along with the rest of the audience, he wondered what in the world was up.

“Okay we are going to have an intermission and we will be back with more dancing!” Nicole said letting Salsa rest for a moment. Adonis joined up with Raps and tried to wrap his arm around his.

“Hey, cutie. I am sorry about earlier I don’t mean to come off so strongly. Can we have a fresh start? I heard there is a wedding tomorrow and we can go together?” Raps pulled away this time.

“look, adonis, you’re nice and all but one... ya need to slow it down, two, i’m not bi or gay. i’m sorry if you were told differently. three, i already have a date for the wedding.”

“You… do? Who?” 

“i asked my friend to go with me of course.” 

“Oh you mean Chara. She was willing to relinquish her ticket to me if you wished to take someone with you.” 

“yeah... i think i need to talk to her about that.” 

“Well she is by the bar drinking fairly heavy for an event that is supposed to take the focus off of her.” 

“yeah... well her job is stressful, i’m not surprised she is. the media thing was just making an already stressful life worse. anyway, enjoy the show pal.” 

“I will. Too bad you don’t swing my way or I would sweep you off of your feet.” 

“i have no doubts of that.” He headed off to the bar.

  
  


Unlike what Adonis was saying, Chara was just sipping at one long island ice tea and just was trying not to think. She was trying to ignore the feelings she was feeling, and the longer she thought on it the harder it was to ignore.

“how’s it going?” 

“Hey, want a long island ice tea?” Chara offered. 

“i’ll give it a go, i’ve never had one.” Chara made a gesture and Grillby brought another one over and placed it front of Chara and one in front of Raps. He took a sip.

“hmmm, maybe better with sugar?” 

“Grillby can you add more coke to his?” Grillby nodded and poured some more coke in his glass. 

“It is pure booze. No ice tea involved.” Chara explained. She was clearly avoiding the initial question he posed to her.

“huh, interesting.” He said, taking a sip.

“definitely better now.” 

“The dance seems amazing. Your brother really outdid himself.” 

“yeah, he definitely worked hard. looks like it was a huge hit.” 

“You should be very proud of him.” 

“i am.” Chara smiled and offered her glass.

“To a companionship I wouldn’t give up in a million years.” _I wish I could be more than that but I am simply happy to be by your side._

“sure.” He smiled a little and touched his glass to hers before taking a sip. He knew she hadn’t answered his question, but he wouldn’t press her. Not now... maybe later.


	20. Chapter 20

“The show will resume in 2 minutes!” Nicole warned as Salsa ran over to the pair and hugged Raps tightly.

“Thank You For Coming! You Have No Idea What It Means To See You In The Crowd.” Chara didn’t even think how Salsa would feel seeing Raps watching. 

“How Did I Do? I Got To Go Back Soon So Keep It Brief.” 

“i wouldn’t miss it for the world bro, but that was awesome. your hard work paid off.” Salsa’s eye lights glint with pride. 

“You Have No Idea How Much That Means To Me Brother!” Chara had a feeling Raps did.

“maybe not but it’s good to see ya happy.” 

“I Got To Go! Please Enjoy The Second Part.” Salsa waved and ran back towards the stage.

“Hehe… he seems in good spirits. Adonis seems to be leaving. I am sorry you two didn’t get along.” 

“it’s fine, though i’d like to know why he thought he was my type... i don’t swing that way.” He then took a sip of his drink.

“Oh… Oh! I am so sorry I thought-” He snorted in amusement.

“i’m asexual, not bisexual.” 

“Asexual?” 

“don’t do the whole hollywood romance shit.” He replied.

“Oh…” Chara said softly as she felt her hopes fell again.

“Now for the finale!” Nicole announced and pointed at Salsa. 

“just one more reason i don’t date... too many want that kinda romance they see on the silver screen... but i just can’t swing it.” He then turned his attention to the stage.

 _See, he is just a friend. Only a friend… get it out of your head he can be anything more than a friend._ Chara was convincing herself as she watched Salsa dance. 

_should i be flattered or insulted she was trying to hook me up?_ He wondered, watching his brother.

“T-tomorrow you d-don’t mind going with me to the wedding will you?” Chara asked quietly as the dance continued.

“of course not. why would i mind?” She shook her head, not responding to the question.

“you’re quite the enigma ya know that?” He remarked. _maybe that’s why i’m so drawn to you... it’s like a puzzle i just can’t quite figure out..._

“I am not really that confusing just… a bit different is all.” Chara said with a smile.

“heh, no... an enigma is another word for a puzzle.” He replied with his own smile, watching her out of the corner of one of his sockets.

“As a former scientist-” She was going to flirt with him but she stopped as she reminded herself who he was to her.

“even the smartest of male scientists cannot claim to fully understand the functionality of the female.” He replied.

“T-true.” _I can at least learn from our interactions how to be a so-called “badass” I lacked in my first relationship._ He chuckled a little.

“dunno why you think i could. i might be a former scientist but i’m not that good.” 

“Y-you s-seem to get me though.” Chara said in almost in inaudible tone.

“some how i have doubts about that.” He replied.

“though i’d believe the opposite.” She gave him a confused look but didn’t say much.

“what? that seem strange to you? that you understand me better than i do you?” 

“If I did wouldn’t I have picked up the vibes that you are asexual or whatever?” 

“not necessarily, you have to know what the word even means to even begin to recognize it.” 

“Okay, I would have respected that you can pick out someone for yourself better than I could.” 

“i’m rather picky honestly.” 

“My point is we both really know each other the best.” Chara was getting defensive and she didn’t know why. Maybe it was the newfound facts about him. It could be the fact her small little fantasy of being together was squashed once more. 

“hmm. maybe so.” He murmured thoughtfully before he took another sip. They watched the rest of the show in pretty much silence. Raps didn’t mind, though he didn’t have another drink either.

“Thank you for coming to this performance. If you want an autograph with our new star, Salsa, please come to the backstage.” Nicole announced. Chara smiled.

“You go ahead. I am going to hail a cab and head home to sober up. I should also check on the experiment too.” 

“hmm, alright. i’ll do the same when we get back.” Chara left g, covering both of their drinks, and left. There was quite a line for Salsa as he became an instant celebrity. Raps hung back to talk to Foxtrot and Aria while Salsa was signing autographs. 

Chara went home and checked out the experiment and was pleasantly surprised that the experiment went well. Chara wanted to personally tell Raps but the party was taking its sweet time and by the time Salsa and Raps finally got home they discovered a small cake on the table with a note on top with a small box.

  
  


Dear boys.

Congrats! Congrats Salsa on your successful dance and congrats to us for coming up with a cure for the corruption. I tried to stay up but I am exhausted so I made a cake and left it for you two. In the box is the cure. 

Thanks for today 

Chara

  
  


“seems like we have two things to celebrate tonight eh bro?” Raps said after reading the note.

“Oohhh What Is This?” Salsa held the vial not knowing it was the only known cure at the moment.

“that’s the cure.” Raps took the vial from him and put it into his phone. 

“Cure For What?”

“the corruption.” He pointed to the note. Raps opened some notes in his phone, adding the final ingredient to the formula and updating the thesis. Near the end and hitting send so that it would upload and refresh on the hq page within 24 hours. He then shot off two texts, one to Dr. Mews and one to Nicole, they both said the same thing: we did it. we have a cure.

Nicole: Oh thank goodness. Thank you guys! You did a great job.

Dr. Mews: I w-will need more p-perseverance… I d-don’t think I have e-enough.

He answered his friend first: don’t worry, i have someone else who can duplicate it. no worries.

  
  


Raps: i’m sending you the vial i have. it’s the only one so be careful with it.

1 attachment

Nicole: Need me to duplicate it?

Raps: yep.

Nicole: Can I give you some tomorrow? I kind of over exerted myself today.

Raps: not a huge hurry, there will be a 24 hr delay on the formula’s release to the scientific society. 

Nicole: Okay good I will give you several vials tomorrow at the wedding sound good?

Raps: just send ‘em to my phone. also, might wanna send one to aria too... and keep one in your inventory... ya know, just in case.

  
  
  
  


Chara left early in the morning to go to Muffet’s place to find a decent outfit to wear. She didn't have any really special outfits. Raps, of course, was digging through his closet to see if he had anything suitable for a wedding. By the time it was getting close to leave Chara texted Raps.

Charadoll: Hey I am running late. If you want to run ahead you can or meet me at Muffet’s designs. It is up to you. I will be done in about 15-20 min. If you are not here I will just take it as a go ahead and walk there or get a ride.

“Are You Ready Papyrus? This Is So Exciting, Being Invited To A Mini Wedding Like This!"

“almost... i don’t think i have a jacket that goes with this....” He had a white button down and some black slacks, but alas... no jacket.

“Well Worst Comes To Worst You Can Go Without A Jacket,”

“i’m going to try muffet’s, see if she has something, if so i’ll snag it. if not... well, you’re right, at least i have a tie.” He had one the color of his magic so it wasn’t like he was completely underdressed. He also had some nice black house shoes on that would be good for dancing... if he was pushed into it. Also, as far as he knew... everyone was being shrunk down for this party anyway... which would be interesting.

“i’ll see you at the wedding bro.” He shortcut to Muffet’s.

“Darling you just pick a random color that speaks to you.” Muffet says to Chara who was walking around only in a slip. Raps pushed open the front door.

“hey muffet?” 

“I thought I locked that.” Muffet said coming over.

“guess not.” He locked it behind him.

“It is fine. I am wearing a slip it isn’t like I am naked.” Chara explained. He still wasn’t looking in that direction though out of respect.

“uh... just c-came cuz i don’t have a jacket to go with this... i used to. dunno what happened to it.” 

“I will find you a jacket, and you, put on something!” Muffet yelled.

“i’m just gonna stay here...” Raps muttered, slightly flushed. After a moment Chara came down in a basic blue dress with a jean jacket.

“I can’t pick. Will you help me?”

“uh... well... what are the choices?” 

“I just… I didn’t even dress up for that… time when I thought we were on a date but it end up not being a date.”

“coulda fooled me.” 

“Dr. Mew and her friends dressed me up.”

“ah, i knew she had something to do with it.” 

“Poor Muffet has been trying to figure out something for me.”

“well, why don’t you just find some you like and i can help from there... i’m not a fashion guru here.” 

“Alright… well this is one of the choices. Muffet said it is too plain.” It was the outfit she was wearing.

“might be in terms of style. not sure the jacket goes with it either.” 

“There is this.” Chara brought over a dress that had a slit that went up to the waist. It was black and silvery.

“that one is a nice piece if you don’t mind showin’ some leg. but if you figure on dancing, it might not move well.” 

“Please just pick a random one. I give up.” She whined. She was just not a fashionista. He wasn’t either and he riffled through some designs before he found one. The one he held up was a sunset orange to yellow fade it was a simple look in design but had pleats along the skirt, that would drop just beneath her knees, allowing for a display of sunset colors if she chose to dance in it.

“Want me to try that one on?” Chara asked, coming over.

“seems like it’d fit you, go see if it fits.” He said as he handed it over.

“Okay, give me a moment.” Chara took the dress and went to the dressing room.

 _at least no one can accuse me of being color biased with all the shades on it..._ He thought with a quiet sigh. He’d never hear the end of it from Muffet if she found out that he’d picked out a dress for Chara in his color... Muffet returned with his jacket, handing it over. Chara let out a small eep as Muffet rushed over.

“Oh my… stay there Papyrus. Give me a moment to really make her shine.”

“um, okay?” After 30 more minutes Chara came out of the dressing room with her hair dyed back to her natural color of brown and styled up, letting a few curls fall against her cheeks.

“Hi.” Chara said with a flush. She also had several bracelets of various shades of oranges.

“um, hi... you definitely look like a sunset now.”

“Do you think I look pretty in this?” Chara asked nervously.

“you look beautiful.” She didn’t expect that kind of answer and her flush deepened and she glanced away.

“S-shall w-we go?” 

“um, did you find a jacket muffet?” 

“Sweetie, I handed it to you earlier. Remember?” Raps shook his head.

“pff, it was so light i didn’t notice with all the fuss you made over chara.” He slipped on the jacket.

“Chara, paid for your jacket already. You two have fun.”

“It was the least I could do since I live in your home for free.” 

“heh, appreciate it.” He offered his arm to her. She took it and smiled. He shortcut the two of them to the location where they were to await to be taken to the wedding.

“Weew… Aria. I don’t know if I can shrink anymore.” Nicole said tired.

“I’ll do it then, I’ll shrink you all and send you to the room where everyone is waiting. A few years practice and you’ll wonder how you ever got tired from this.” Aria shrunk the last of them and sent them to the correct place before joining them with five minutes left to spare. She had agreed to officiate this wedding since it would likely be tough to find a pastor who wouldn’t mind being a few inches tall for a wedding.

“Okay RC you were right we should have just made the wedding couple our size.” Nicole sighed. She was just exhausted.

“heh, well it’s what the bride wants... mine was just a suggestion.” 

“I need to keep it together until this wedding is over.” Nicole said rubbing her belly.

“After the ceremony. We will need to go.” Chara took her seat near the back with Raps. It was quite beautiful as they just set echo plants over this grassy area. The plants seemed to take over the area but the bright blue color the plants emitted was very stunning against the sharp green of the grass. It was a very lovely ceremony, to be sure. There was a reception area set up in the shade of one of the massive plants for everyone.

“Wow, this is just beautiful!” Chara admitted as the rest of the guests commented similar things. 

“Ink! We should have a wedding like this, but with just paint everywhere!” Smartie said standing in the middle of the aisle taking several photos.

“we can do that!”

“Maybe normal size though.” Aria suggests as everyone is seen to tables with some steak and vegetables, there were also other foods though as well on a buffet table for those who preferred other things and condiments for all the various Sanses and the few Papyruses that drank them. 

“Aria… a moment p-please.” Nicole asked trying to keep her tone down. She was doing some deep breathing and she didn’t dare look at RC as she knew if she did he would know exactly what was happening. Aria went over to her friend.

“I need a l-little help.” She took out her phone and typed in the message to show Aria.

I am in labor. Do you have a way to help delay this?

“No... I can’t say I do... but I can help you through it.” Aria muttered and escorted her over to a different plant, using some light gravity magic to carry her friend to make the trip faster and put her out of view too.

“what is going on?” RC asked, following the two. 

“Exactly what you’d expect with a pregnant woman, she just doesn’t want to cause a ruckus or have Charm think she’s stealing the spotlight.” Aria replies calmly as she summons some pillows and a blanket for her friend to sit on then several towels and some water... and then a silencing spell. 

“E-exactly… I already ow ow… stole so much f-from her… ow…”

“Just sit down and relax RC. You can hold her hand if you want to while I numb the majority of the pain... I can’t take it all away or you won’t know when to push.” Aria says as she lays a hand on her friend’s stomach. Nicole nodded.

“relax? how can I relax? are they okay?”

“Everything is perfectly normal.” Aria reassures as her magic dulls the pain so that it’s more like someone tugging too hard on a limb rather than the actual pain it should be.

“T-thank you… it is more like c-cramps now.”

“Yeah, cramps are bearable, this... not so much. Makes you wonder how our ancestors managed right?” She shifted the clothes so that the baby would be able to come out without hindrance.

“Or why they had several.” Nicole couldn’t help but snicker.

“Yeah, that too.”

“how can you be laughing? you are about to push a life out of you and you are in pain and we have a wedding…”

“Well, consider it this way RC, she’s trying to focus on something besides the pain. If you wanna have any idea what this feels like... summon an ass and shove a baseball up it... that’s about par at the moment.” 

“Hehe… oh that is so ow… true…” Nicole laughed as she got ready to push.

“And if you want to know what it STARTED as... make it a watermelon.”

“Amen sister!” Nicole said laughing even more at RC, who was in disbelief. 

“ah, i see a head now... I’m going to need you to get ready to push okay?” 

“H-hold my hand.” Nicole asked RC and he complied. When she pushed she squeezed RC’s hand.

“Push!” She did and squealed in pain as sweat began to pour from her face.

“Good, okay... one more!” With one giant grunt and RC yelping in pain as his fingers got crushed. It was followed by the wail of an infant that Aria cradled in a white towel that wasn’t white anymore.

“Ohh… my god…” Nicole said as it became more real than ever before.

“Congratulations you two, you have a beautiful baby girl.” She picked up another towel, wiping down the infant who was wailing her little lungs out in protest.

“i don’t know who is suffering more my crushed fingers or her.” 

“Definitely her. Your fingers will live.” Aria replies, easing the pain with a slight gesture of one hand before summoning some surgical twine and wrapping it tightly around the cord then a pair of scissors which she offered to RC. RC squeamishly cuts the cord. Aria chuckled a little, the child had at least stopped wailing, she was now just fussy as a diaper was put on her and she was snuggled into a little onesie and a little fuzzy white towel to keep her warm now. She looked mostly like her mother, but her hair was a soft red, almost the same shade as RC's eye lights.

  
  


“Can I?” Nicole asked, wanting to hold her baby.

“Of course. She’ll be wanting her first meal.” She hands the child over to Nicole.

“Do you two have a name for her?” 

“I do but RC is not a big fan of it.” Nicole said softly as she let the baby attach to her breast.

“we were debatin’ names actually.” 

“Hmmm, what was the name?” 

“Mine was Lilly. I always thought it was a pretty name but another comes from my family that is Ellen. It is a middle name past down to all the females on my mother’s side.”

“And what about you RC?” The child was clearly more human than skeleton. Time would tell what she got from her father exactly.

“celeste and we can keep the middle name of ellen if it makes her happy.”

“She kind of looks like a Celeste.” Nicole commented looking at the child.

“It sounds like a good compromise. Celeste then.”

“You two go ahead and start the wedding. I don’t want to take away the spotlight from the bride.”

“Why don’t you both stay here and I'll just bring you some food?” 

“Thank you and after awhile if I am up for it I will sit at a table.” Nicole just felt exhausted. 

“Sounds good, RC can let me know if you do or if you need help. Get some rest Nikki. Congratulations you two.” 

“will do.” 

“Thank you. I am so happy.” Nicole just couldn’t believe she was holding her own flesh and blood in her arms. Aria simply smiled and left to fetch a couple of plates she came back fairly quickly with a tray she set up for them both with food and drinks to eat at their leisure before she returned back to the party.

“What do you think is happening over there that is causing all the skeletons to turn their noses a bit?” Chara asked at the reception party.

“the scent of blood... but not enough to cause alarm.” Raps murmured. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I've Had) The Time of My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warns  
> I Can't Fight This Feeling - Reo Speedwagon

“Someone cut their finger or leg? I can help a little.” Raps looked around.

“looks like rc isn’t here... no... i wager it isn’t an accident if rc is gone. it’s not a simple cut either or nicole and rc would still be in the crowd... by deduction... i’d say she had her kid.” 

“Wow, that is something. Wonder why she stuck around if she was about to pop?” 

“she probably didn’t know i wager. it was just she thought she had more time, but as the saying goes... babies come when they wanna... not when we plan ‘em to.” A gentleman came over and offered his hand to Chara.

“Care for a dance?” Chara wasn’t expecting such an offer and just sat there looking at him confused.

“Me?” Chara asked again.

“told ya you were beautiful. i think this gentleman agrees.” 

“I do. Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?” Chara shrugged, got up and followed him to the dance floor to dance with him. It was a slow dance but they were arms length away from each other as they danced. Raps watched the two. _hmmm, old style courtship distance rather than personal... odd choice. he’s decent but no professional. she’s definitely improved._ He could see them chattering back and forth as they swayed. He even caught her laughing at something. He wondered what about... and he wasn’t sure he liked it. He watched the two. Sipping his drink. He couldn’t help comparing the two with his own experiences. _what are you doin’ paps? this isn’t right... you can’t just expect them to be to your expectations... and if she’s happy... that’s all that matters, right?_

“It was nice talking to you Sam.” Chara said as she headed back.

“You owe me a new dance lesson, mister.” 

“do i now?” 

“I didn’t get one today so… can I have one now?”

“heh, well, depends. what do you wanna learn this time?” 

“Surprise me.” Chara said with a smile. He considered it a moment before he got up and went over to the DJ and talked to them then returned to the table. Offering the usual bow as the current song began to fade. She returned the gesture in kind before taking his hand. The music was light but lively, and he did a few simple steps to the beat, pausing for her to copy. She was trying to copy it was a little slow at first but soon enough she was picking it up with ease. Once she had the steps he added a twirl, granted, neither had the proper shoes for the light tap dance they were doing, but the steps were there nonetheless. She giggled and was just enjoying the moment. She let him guide her. She wanted to tell him so bad how free she truly felt when they were dancing, but always coward out in the end.

At one point he’d even picked her up briefly by the waist and spun with her as the song continued into a climax and then ended. They didn’t realize a small audience gathered and started to applaud the performance. Raps flushed slightly. Aria went to the DJ stand and murmured to them, the next song was slow... a classic song, but Raps knew what song it was the moment the male voice began to sing only to be joined by the female version. 

_Now I’ve had the time of my life_

_No I never felt this way before_

_Yes I swear, it’s the truth and I owe it all to you_

_‘Cause I, had the time of my life_

_And I owe it all to you_

“I trust you Papyrus.” Chara whispered. He smiled as he gently twirled her close, he had no intention of re-creating that dance entirely with her since one... they were off beat and two, there was a crowd, three... he wasn’t sure he could do that with his brother there... but they’d get close... and four, he wasn’t sure if she knew it that well.

“Nobody puts baby in the corner.” Chara says with a smirk. He only smiled a little as they fell into step with the song.

“I loved that movie! It is my favorite!” 

“one of mine too. i’ve only done this dance fully successfully once...” He murmured back. 

“It is the truth and I owe it all to you!” Chara sang as they danced. He spun her around, twirling as the music continued, improvising in some places but keeping perfect time with the music. She loved every moment as her body matched his and she allowed him to maneuver her anyway he wanted. 

“think you wanna attempt the climax?” He muttered when they twirled close.

“I do!” Chara said with a smile. He nodded, it was coming up in a few beats; that’s why he’d asked, the two dancers parting for the first time to get the distance needed for the energy. She backed up a good 7 to 8 feet before making a full run. He turned towards her, waiting as the cue began to build towards the climax. The moment she got within reach he grabbed her waist and, with a bit of magic to boost her, lifted her into the air seamlessly.

The crowd erupted in applause as it was flawless. He then helped her back down as the music went on, leading her back into the dance as the music slowly began to die down to come to a close. In the heat of the moment she kissed him. He swayed gently with her even as he returned the gentle kiss. 

“I s-shouldn’t h-have done that.” Chara muttered feeling she crossed some line. With the last of the music, as the notes were dying he gently dipped her, claiming a second kiss even as the song ended. She was in a bit of shock but sunk into the kiss as the crowd hooted and hollered at the kissing couple.

“someone is getting lucky!” Red yelled jokingly. Raps pulled her up with him when the kiss had ended.

“stick a sock in it red!” He called back. Chara’s head was spinning. What did this mean? Did he like her like she liked him? He led her back to the table.

“that was a rush.” 

“Y-yeah…”

“coulda done without the peanut gallery though.” 

“W-well better with the applause than booing.”

“true.”

“M-May I ask a s-stupid question, but w-what does that… uhh make us?”

“what we want, i suppose... but to be clear. you’re a very special individual in my life, chara.” He still had hold of one of her hands, he lightly brought it up to his teeth for a gentle kiss. She flushed and smiled.

“Y-you are very special to me too.” _Ask me to be your girlfriend. I will gladly accept. I should ask him. Why am I so nervous? Why is this so confusing? I can just stare into his eye lights and just nod too. That works._

“you’re thinking about all of this way too much. i can almost see all the little gears and cogs turning in that mind of yours.” 

“Yeah, I have a million little questions and I…” Chara took a deep breath before asking.

“Will you be my boyfriend?” _Was that too fast?_

“i’d like to start somewhere, that’s a good place.” Chara sighed with a smile. It was just a huge relief. He lightly intertwined their fingers. She returned the gesture squeezing his hand. There were plenty of songs during the evening’s meal and celebration. Another song began to play that he recognized.

“one last dance?” He asked.

“For you I will dance the night away.” Chara wanted to sound witty. He chuckled a little, offering the usual bow as the song began. She returned the bow with a courtesy.

_I can’t fight this feeling any longer_

_And yet I’m still afraid to let it flow_

_What started out as friendship has grown stronger_

_I only wish I had the strength to let it show_

He pulled her close, lightly wrapping his arms around her waist as he lead her into a two step.

“I know you heard me say this but I never told you it is only with you that I feel like floating when we dance.” Chara said softly.

“that’s because it’s a perfect dance.” He murmured back. 

_I tell myself that I can’t hold out forever_

_I say there is no reason for my fear_

_‘Cause I feel so secure when we’re together_

_You give my life direction_

_You make everything so clear_

_And even as I wander_

_I’m keeping you in sight_

_You’re a candle in the window_

_On a cold, dark winter’s night_

_And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might_

“Perfect dance? Heh, it is only perfect because of you.” Chara joked lightly. He only smiled a little in response as they swayed to the music. She rested her head against his chest.

“you’re perfect.” He murmurs softly. Chara flushed and lifted her head to give Raps a kiss on the cheek before going back to resting her head against his chest. It was one of the last songs before the DJ wrapped things up and Aria saw everyone out and back to their normal size. When asked about Nicole she simply said that Nicole was tired from everything and had retired early and RC had too much to drink.

“Hi Papyrus… long time no see.” A figure said coming up to Raps. It took a moment before he recognized her.

“hope.” He recognized her soul. Surprise flitted across his features, he was pretty sure he’d never see her again since they had parted.

“You two danced beautifully. I am- we are happy for you.”

“We?” Chara was a little confused.

“thanks.” It was all Raps said.

“Here, when you have time I would like to catch up with you and Sans.” Hope hands over a business card with her phone number.

“i’m sure he’ll be happy about that, he’s missed you.” 

“I missed him too… don’t worry Chara I am not aiming to steal your man. Hehe… it was nice to see you happy though Papyrus.” Chara was clearly confused. He flushed slightly, though it wasn’t out of embarrassment; he still felt guilty over what had happened, regardless of the time that had passed... some of the guilt still remained.

“Don’t worry about us. We are happy.” Hope said as if reading his mind.

“Am I missing something?” Chara asked.

“We should be going. It was nice to s-“ Hope didn’t see Salsa as he pounced and hugged her.

“Hope! Hope! I Missed You So Much!” Raps decided it was a good opportunity to slip away. Chara followed and eventually caught up to Raps. She grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a hug.

“What is wrong? Why did you leave? Why is she acting so weird?”

“that’s just how they are. i don’t think i can talk about it yet.” 

“That is fine but take me with you. Even if you don’t tell me anything at least let me stand by your side.”

“heh, well i was just goin’ home cuz the party is over and it’s getting late.”

“You want to come over my place or should we go to yours?” Chara joked as it was the same place.

“i’m too tired to care which one at the moment.” He replied honestly after a moment.

“Surprise me.” Chara said, entwining her fingers with his.

“that’d be a bit hard considering i don’t know where you live. never been there.” 

“It is literally three blocks from the lab.”

“you have to be a lot more specific than that.” 

“Your house is about 4 blocks away from my place. It is that yellow little house.”

“really?” He mused tiredly. He was walking because he didn’t trust himself to make the jump and not mess it up.

“Let’s just go home to your place.” Chara waved down a taxi and it pulled up next to them.

“Come on sleepy head.”

“mkay.” He followed her into the taxi. Soon enough they arrived at the home, she paid the taxi and followed Raps inside. 

“get some rest, sleep well.” He gently kissed her forehead before he headed towards his room.

“You too…” She muttered gently after he left. He was almost too tired to get out of the clothes, but he didn’t want to wrinkle them so he put them over a chair before he crashed on the bed. Chara just went to bed in the dress. A part of her didn’t want the night to end and another was just exhausted while a third part found herself wondering about this Hope being but… oddly she felt it suppressed, like it was being pushed away. The next morning Raps was up early, fixing breakfast. He’d made omelets and french toast. The last thing he would expect made their way to the table. 

“I crashed on the couch at your brother’s request. Don’t worry I will make myself scarce soon.” Hope said, trying to avoid eye contact.

“Morning! Hope! I Am So Glad You Are Still Here! Raps, You Made Breakfast?”

“yeah.” He set the plates on the table for them both, but he’d lost his appetite. It wasn’t their fault he couldn’t get over what had happened.

“I should go.” Hope could see the expression on Rap's face had changed.

“don’t run off without breakfast just cuz of an old set of bones kiddo.” Raps replied evenly, he snagged a drink and went to the living room. Five years... almost five years ago and still... it might as well have happened yesterday. He took a drink, trying to focus his thoughts. Chara came downstairs.

“Hey, morning. What’s up?” 

“morning.” He smiled at her, that was as good a distraction as any.

“breakfast is in the kitchen if you’re hungry.” Chara looked at her phone and nodded before sitting next to him. Then, without any provocation, she nibbled at his neck.

“It can wait… I want dessert first.”

“nyeh!” He flushed, caught off guard by it, but he wrapped his arms around her. She smiled and moved to kiss him. Showering him in love. He returned the loving kisses.

“I like you a lot.” Chara muttered as she nipped at his chin with a devious smirk before glancing at her phone briefly.

“i like you a lot too.” He briefly could see that she was reading some sort of article.

“what’s that you got there?” 

“I am reading a… an article about how to seduce your man. Stupid huh?”

“and why do you think you’d need somethin’ like that?” 

“Because I don’t want to lose you because I am not “badass” enough. So, I am teaching myself to be super sexy for you.” Chara smirked, thinking this was a smart idea.

“chara.” He said gently, lightly brushing his fingers along her cheek.

“i like you as you are. you don’t have to change for me. that stigma from your ex... is because that was his preference, not mine.” 

“Did you not like me making out with you?”

“that’s not what i said. i want you to be yourself, not take someone else’s advice just because things didn’t work out with someone else. don’t push yourself to be something you’re not.” 

“I kind of liked making out with you too. I just wanted to make sure it was okay.” Chara heard some talking in the dining room and she glanced that direction.

“What is going on in there?”

“just my bro entertaining his guest and i enjoy kissin’ ya right back.”


	22. Chapter 22

“Good to know that we can make out whenever now. In fact if there is a guest and they are not anyone we should worry about… I say we practice more kissing upstairs. How does that sound?” Raps felt his phone vibrate and it was Nicole.

Nikki: Sorry for the delay. Been a crazy week. Keeping the original in case More is needed.

Attached 50 items 

Nikki: also here is a picture of my daughter celeste get jealous!

Attached 1 photo

It is a human infant with brilliantly blue eyes, red hair and wearing a pink jumper.

Nikki: RC stole my phone! Sorry! 

Raps chuckled and showed Chara the picture.

Raps: she’s a cutie.

“Whose baby is that?” Chara asked looking at the photo.

“Wow, those eyes are like REALLY blue.” 

“that’s celeste, rc and nicole’s kid.” 

“I guess you were right, they did have a baby at the wedding. Still bizarre but why aren’t the eyes red like RC’s eye lights. Isn’t he a Red?” 

“probably influence of her mom, all human babies start out with blue eyes. nikki is still human after all.” 

“I have a hard time believing that with all the powers she has.”

“creators are human, even aria was human once. i got a pic of her before she became a skeleton.” He flipped through his gallery before he produced a picture.

“got this from rc. who got it from naatsoe. not many have this and hard as it is to believe, that was her at one point.” 

“That is just crazy. I mean we don’t possess that kind of power.” 

“yeah, rc hasn’t explained, but he said that her story was one helluva ride and that there’s a reason humans here don’t have the power she and nikki do. it’s because they are from a different verse all together. one whose only connection to ours is that ours was born from them. that’s why we call ‘em creators.” 

“This stays between us but I think Aria is far more responsible with her powers compared to Nicole.” 

“heh, she is, but you also have to remember that aria’s been with us for over five years now... or at least in terms of multiverse existence. nikki’s only been around a couple of years at best. aria’s lived through a shit ton of revolutions in many multiverses... nikki hasn’t.” 

“Even though the wedding was gorgeous it was still very impractical of her to shrink everyone.” 

“yeah, but ya know the bride gets what she wants.” He shrugged. 

“anyway, i won’t say anythin’ about that.” 

“So… about that cure? Did she ever get back to you about that? Also, what did you think of my proposition? About making out… in my room?” 

“yeah, they sent us like fifty of the things and i like your idea.” He replied as he shot off 49 of the vials to Dr. Mews with the text: here ya go. lemme know if you need more.

Dr. Mews: W-wow! T-this is a g-good start. We will s-start using them and I w-will let you know what if I n-need more.

Raps stuck his phone in his hoodie. Chara got up off off the catch and took Raps’ hand and tugged him gently with a smirk when Hope came through the living room.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Hope apologized, Raps shrugs.

“Oh… hi Hope?” Chara wasn’t sure but she felt so awkward as Salsa bounded into the room with such energy.

“She Is Coming Over For Supper! Isn’t That Great Raps!”

“He originally wanted me to move back in but … yeah.” Hope said trying to convey a message to Raps so he understood why she was coming back so soon. Raps decided to say nothing on the matter.

“Move back in?” Chara asked as Hope gave her a look like ‘Why are you asking this?’ 

“I should go.” 

“I Can Fill In Chara Why You Should Move In And Between Us We Can Convince You To Come Back To Us.” 

“Uhh… I don’t think that is a good idea.” Chara felt so out of place and felt she had no right to tell Hope what to do.  Raps gave his brother a look that says ‘seriously?’

“we’ll talk about this later.” 

“See You Tonight Hope!” Salsa said as Hope left with a nervous wave. 

“Well, that was awkward.” Chara commented the moment the door closed.

“What Was?”

“you and i need to talk, apparently.” 

“Me?” Chara asked, as she felt Raps was accusing her of something.

“no, i meant me and him.” He had been looking at his brother when he’d said it.

“Please, What Did I Do Wrong?” 

“I guess I will just go now… if you need me, Papyrus, I will be in the lab in my room.” 

“Where Are You Going? Does She Really Get To Skip Out On This?”

“Because he wants to talk to you…” 

“But You Are Going To Be His Future Mate! You Should Know About This Stuff Too!” 

“W-what? W-we are j-just d-dating r-right now.” Chara was just in shock.

“she’s not wrong, but it’s up to her to stay or to go. though chances are she already knows what this is about.” 

“S-slightly but you should d-decide Papyrus.”

“Why Are You Not Participating In This?” 

“i don’t know why you want me to decide that. the choice is yours, anyway bro, you really shouldn’t just invite them over like that. i shouldn’t haven’t to explain why.” Chara began to sneak away from the conversation when Salsa grabbed her arm, keeping her there, like she will be a good buffer.

“I Missed Her!” 

“let her go if she wants to go. i know you missed her, but you can’t have things back the way they were and you shouldn’t force them into something they aren’t comfortable with doing, not to mention literally inviting them to live with us just because you miss something of the past?”

“J-just B-because Chara Is In Them…” Salsa sniffed. Chara tried to pry away from Salsa’s grip. 

“i’m not going to keep you from contacting them, but it’s not fair to either me, chara or them to suddenly talk about them living here without talking about it beforehand.”

“I J-just Don’t Know When The Next Time We Will See Them Again.” Chara finally pulled away, and took a step, when she felt a weak tug at her shirt like a child begging for their mother. 

“so talk to them about it instead of... whatever this is.”

“What If They… What If They Never Forgive Me?” He sighs.

“that’s between you and them, but forcing them here isn’t going to make them forgive you or change anything. things are what they are. i know getting past this isn’t easy.” 

“Y-you Can Go Too…” Salsa whimpered as if he lost the war. The comment was towards Chara as she stood there, no longer pulling away any more. 

“I uhh… I am not the best at situations but I do like this place and you guys.” 

“it is a nice place, but ya know, if your career takes off bro, you won’t be here much and there’d be no reason to keep this particular place.”

“True, You Will Leave Me Too.” 

“more like the reverse.”

“I Will Never Leave You… I … I Would Miss Y-you T-Too Much…” Salsa started sniffing and tears started to flow down his cheeks. 

“Your My Best Friend And The Best Dance Partner, I Love You Brother.” 

“and i always will be bro, it won’t be forever, but being on the road will mean you’ll have to have others you’ll be around and i can’t really go with you. but i’ll always be here for you.” 

“B-But…” He looked so weak and so sad. Raps got up and went over to his brother, putting his arms around him.

“you know why i can’t go... she doesn’t.” He murmurs.

“You Don’t Have To Join Me There But At Home You Can Stay. Please!” Chara watched the two bond. 

“i’ll wait for you to get back from tour, we can discuss the house thing at a later date. we’ll just see what happens k?” He murmured quietly, drying his brother’s tears. Salsa nodded and held him tightly.

“i promised our goodbyes would never be forever. i’ll keep that promise, k?” He murmured.

“I K-know But I Will Miss You Like Crazy.” 

“yeah, me too.”

“Am I allowed to hug you both or would that be awkward?” Chara was moved by the two interacting with each other.

“what do you think bro?” 

“She Is Going To Be My Sister Soon So Sure!” Chara flushed deeply.

“W-why does h-he keep s-saying stuff l-like that?” Chara said coming over and hugging them both. 

“cuz apparently that’s what he’s sure of.”  _ and he knows me better than anyone...  _

“Yep! You Make My Brother Happy!” Chara smiled and placed a loving kiss on top of Salsa’s skull. 

“You are something else.” Chara joked. Raps chuckled a little and kissed Chara’s cheek. Humans were usually more cautious and less certain about their choices; Raps knew this, he’d wait.

“I Wish I Can Talk To Her…” 

“what exactly would you say if you could?”    
  


“H-how…”

“Why are there two terminologies for Hope? Isn’t she a she…?” 

“because one of two of the souls in that vessel is binary. usually only those who do not know this refer to hope as female.”

“Oh… which one is she?”

“chara is binary. frisk was female.” 

“I Miss Just Hanging Out And I Don’t Know If they Will Ever Really Hear Me Out.” 

“you won’t know until ya try bro.” 

“Is Frisk and Chara good … uhh… beings?” Salsa turned to face Chara.

“They Are Great! They Just Are Misunderstood.” Raps nods in agreement.

“Oh… okay… sorry… I d-didn’t know.”

“we know.” 

“Chara And Frisk Are Both Good. One Was More Shy Than The Other.”

“yup.”

“Well, I should go.” Chara felt so awkward and moved to go upstairs.

“Where?”

“To my lab.” 

“Why?” Salsa asked again.

“Because I need to make plans for the next project. There are other problems than just corruption.” 

“yup.” 

“But We Are Bonding. Chara?” Chara was not stopping this time as she headed to her room.

“Is She Mad At Me?”

“no, but i think she wants to get some work done. so don’t think too hard on it, besides, i think she thought earlier she was intruding.” Chara sent a text to Raps

Charadoll: I want to test my new lip gloss. Do you know someone wanting to test it on?

Raps smiled a little when he saw the text.

“looks like the doc wants some advice on her newest project, better go see what it is that isn’t working on... whatever this is supposed to be doing.” He put his phone away and turned to his brother.

“for better or worse bro... i love you, i might not always be within arm’s reach, but i’ll always be here for ya.” 

“I Know. Can I Go Help? I Feel I Should Apologize And If I Can Help In Any Way. I Don’t Know Why She Was Reacting The Way She Was To You Being Her Mate Still. I Mean Anybody Would Be Lucky To Have That Opportunity To Be Your Mate.” Salsa said heading towards Chara’s bedroom.

“because we haven’t discussed that yet bro, plus we only just started datin’. heh, give her time to get used to everything before ya start talkin’ about that... and absolutely do _ not  _ bring up the topic of kids.” 

“Why? Your Kids Will Look So Adorab-” Salsa walked into the lab and Chara was trying to look sexy by wearing the lab coat in a certain way that made it look more dress like than it usually does.

“Weird Outfit For Experiments.” 

“S-sans…” Chara tried to cover herself feeling embarrassed.

“pff, bro, i think we walked in at a wrong time... you should know to knock when there’s a lady in the house.” 

“What Kind Of Experiment Is She Running?” 

“one that isn’t our business, c’mon.” He gently tugged his brother back out, but shot Chara a bit of a grin when Salsa wasn’t looking.

“W-what? What Kind Of Business?”

“i just told you it’s not ours.” Raps repeated.

“i’m going to my room. don’t bug the scientist while she works.”

“I G-guess So? Sure.” Salsa left to go downstairs after watching his brother go into his room. Chara was fussing with her lab coat feeling a bit flustered about the whole scenario. 

Raps closed the door then shortcut to the lab.

“Oh… Sorry I didn’t mean to umm… do that in front of your brother.” 

“it’s fine. not like he understood what was going on anyway.” 


	23. Chapter 23

“Umm… w-well I t-tried to look sexy for y-you.” Chara tried to sound sexy but it sounded off because of her stuttering. 

“yeah, i kinda got the hint even if sans didn’t.” 

“I am glad he didn’t because he wasn’t the one I was trying to seduce.” Chara smiled as she fixed her lab coat. 

“i’d be confused if you were.” He walked over to her.

“since he has trouble knocking, should we take our conversation to a more secure location?”

“Sure, where? Should I change?” 

“nah, you’re fine as you are. we’re not goin’ anywhere fancy or nuthin’.” He replied and gently took her arm to shortcut them to the one place that was always locked in the house... his bedroom.

“Where are we?” Chara asked, trying to look around in the dark room. He flicked on a light. There was a standing light in the corner of the room, a bed in another, yet another corner had a trashnado with various crumpled papers and books in it. The bed had a dark blue cover over white sheets and a pillow case that was grey. There was no window. Where there might have been one was, instead, a dresser with a lava lamp on it that wasn’t plugged in but had orange drops moving up and down.

“O-oh… o-okay… w-wow…” Chara flushed as she looked at the bed and got the wrong impression.

“most secure room in this house.” He moved over to one end of the bed and sat down. Perfectly at ease really. She gulped as she rubbed her arm.

“feel free to pick a spot to sit. so we can talk.” 

“O-okay… uhh… well there is uhh... “ She glanced around for a chair.

“heh, relax eh? i didn’t bring you here for anything other than conversation. and i won’t bite.” Chara smiled and nervously made her way over to him. She sat on the corner of the bed allowing a little bit of space between them.

“I h-haven’t b-been v-very brave. How a-are you today?”

“i’m alright. how’s your day been?” 

“Interesting. I have been trying to impress my new boyfriend and I hope it worked. I almost accidentally flirted with his brother though so that was awkward.” 

“pff, that was pretty bold nonetheless.” 

“He is worth it. He is so cool and calm and collected. Like when things go to hell he seems to see through the bs and it is so amazing.” 

“doesn’t work that way all the time.” 

“Does anything?” 

“fair.” 

“A-anyway, can I umm…” Chara offered her hand to Raps as to ask if she could hold his hand. He waited to see if she’d finish, he wasn’t exactly sure what she was asking. This kinda stuff was new to him. 

“W-will y-you h-hold my hand or is t-that not okay?” 

“it’s fine by me.” He took her hand gently.

“The other day you said you were asexual. Does that mean you are not attracted to me sexually?” 

“no, it’s exactly what i said it was. a disinterest in mainstream romance.” 

“Can you explain? I guess I don’t understand.” 

“you’ve seen what’s called a ‘chick flick’ right?” 

“I am sorta of a TV-holic so… yes.” 

“that’s mainstream romance. the usual ‘guy does this to get girl’s interest’ just usually isn’t my thing. there’s a few rare ones though that i could say would actually happen because they’re not mainstream even though they’re considered a romance movie.” 

“The hand holding not your thing then?” 

“i don’t mind that, it’s the “romance” aspect, not the whole expression part. like, for instance, some movies harp about how romantic walks on the beach are... yeah no. to me the sunset might be pretty but the sand just gets everywhere you don’t want it to.” 

“Hehe…” Chara started to laugh at the idea.

“So you don’t want me to do a grand gesture like push you on the bed and kiss you madly and tell you how wonderful you are?” 

“again, that’s not mainstream romance, that’s mainstream expression of love... which is a totally different thing.” 

“If I do anything mainstream and it is bugging you please let me know. I don’t want to bother you.” 

“sounds fair.” 

“For me… I imagine you probably know I am a bit awkward at things so if I falter or something along those lines and need a bit of help, give me a moment before giving me a hand. Please.” 

“makes two of us, i’ve never really dated before or looked into it beyond the occasional mainstream i’ve seen in movies i’ve watched.” 

“Your brother. He really likes to push the issue of us getting mated but I don’t want to be just a mate. You understand?” 

“well, maybe i should clarify some things then, because while the term mate is pretty basic and... animalistic sounding, there’s a lot more to it than that.” 

“Like what?” 

“when most monsters, skeletons especially, take a mate. it’s for life. it is almost unheard of for a skeleton - who has lost a mate - to ever take another. even if it means that their line of magic ends with them. monsters see being a mate to someone as a deeper thing than i think even most humans take marriage. it’s not something to break without very good reason... and even then breaking it off is done so with great reluctance because it’s not just about sharing a bed, it’s about sharing a life... and marking another... a monster shares their magic with that other soul. this is why infidelity is so rare among monsters. because it’s a very serious thing and to just take that for granted... the way some humans do marriage... it’s unthinkable and a lot of monsters would dust just from the pain alone if it ever happened to them.” 

“I am glad we share the same thought about relationships because I don’t want to be in a relationship where at the end of the day we just tolerate each other.” 

“what kinda relationship is that? i mean, i wouldn’t even want a relationship like that with my own brother, let alone someone i wanted to spend my life with.” 

“I heard of a couple who is now just together for the kids, but who knows? Stress does a lot of things and so does time. Then again if there is only perfect days is that a real relationship too?”

“that’s even worse than someone who gets a divorce cuz they ain’t doin’ no one any favors. life and relationships aren’t perfect, but love can be. if you perfectly love the other, then you can weather the ‘storms’ that come. it’ll still be there when everything calms down again.” 

“That is true. Do monsters get divorces though?”

“i wouldn’t know. i’ve heard of monsters who have lived apart from their mate for an extended period of time, but i’ve never heard of a monster going through with a divorce and living through it. closest thing i’ve ever heard is that a monster, named gerson, once had a mate just before the war between monsters and humans in the alpha timeline... he loved her as much as any could hope to be loved... but, war doesn’t know innocents and she was lost to him. he is the only known monster to have lived through a soul bond, despite that he lost both his mate and his child. no one knows how or the reason why.” 

“Love is a strange thing. I think it is the most painful thing and the most wonderful thing. In my timeline my grandfather loved my grandmother very much. When she passed he would cry himself to sleep every night until he eventually passed away himself.”

“i’ve seen that kinda dedication myself... even if they weren’t soul bonded, my dad loved my mom like that. she passed away from some disease, not sure what, but dad was never the same afterwards... he threw himself into his work, as far as sans has told me anyway. i was too young at the time to remember anything but what he was before we lost him too. sans might not act like it... but he is older than me by five years.” 

“Really? I thought you were the older one of the two.” 

“i get that a lot. it’s because of our outlook on things... how we choose to react to the world. to... anyway, our jobs aren’t really comparable in terms of stress either, even if we both attend monthly meetings.” 

“Maybe that is why he made such a scene earlier about you two splitting up? He probably doesn’t want to lose you too.” 

“well, he made the assumption that i meant something different - i think. when we got here and hope looked at us and said she didn’t want to stay with us... i accepted it... but sans... he was broken over it. i promised him i wouldn’t leave him like that, no matter what happened in our lives.” 

“Why? It wasn’t like they were in love or something?” 

“sans was close to chara... because chara was the first one among both humans and monsters who liked him... for him. who didn’t humor him because he was my brother or because he acted naive that they thought he was a child. i mean, they went on a date once too, but that amounted to nothing because he didn’t really feel that way, so he told me.” 

“Oh… maybe he just misses them as a friend then?” 

“hard to say, but it’s hard to find someone who enjoys the things he does. he and blue both are a bit on the naive side, sometimes, with some things... but they’re still very bright individuals and it’s not really fair for them to be treated like kids just because they refuse to involve themselves in some things in the world... i’ll be honest, what both bothered and shocked me the most about that group is that stupid little betting pool they have had going on since their fifth member showed up... apparently they got so bored that they decided to place bets on who would find a mate first... and this included their brothers, who have had no knowledge this even existed for the longest of times.” 

“How crude! What if they want to be single? Not everyone wants to be in a relationship.” 

“or what if they’re in the position that captain is? captain is classic’s brother... and i think the number one reason captain is still single isn’t cuz he wants to be. it’s because his brother makes it so on several levels... one, his brother doesn’t know how to even date properly. two, he doesn’t even know about human sexuality, human sex ed 101 or even anything about what two organic monsters do if they wanna have kids, let alone how a skeleton and other non-organics do. he’s as naive as they come... as optimistic - which is why he’s still a guard below all the undynes and alphyses in the force - and as a topping on all that... there’s classic himself. everyone - well, not counting me or dream - seems to be scared so shitless of him they wouldn’t even dare entertain the notion of being anything _but_ friends, and that’s if they’re lucky.” Raps shook his head, he seemed rather disgusted with the whole notion.

“I got an idea. It will take time but I think I got a plan.”

“i’d like to hear this idea, see if it’s something i haven’t thought of... because believe me, i’ve tried talking to classic over a _lot_ of things.... and his brother is one topic he will shut you down on before you even open your mouth.”

“We both agree that your brother deserves the respect of an adult, so should Captain. Talk to him and we will have a small group. I am a nervous person myself and we can invite Salsa to come into the group and it can just be a gang.”

“easier said than done. because classic keeps tabs on his brother like a human can keep tabs on an ant under a microscope.” 

“I swore he brought kids to the wedding the other day.”

“he did, but he has plenty of ways through technology and bullying the rest of the monsters that lets him know where his brother is at, even if he isn’t around himself. it’s like house arrest but in public.” 

“Hmmm… do you have Classic’s number?”

“do birds fly?” He smirked.

“Nope they fall with a grace and float.” Chara smirked. Raps laughed.

“i think it’d be better to say they ‘fall with style’ as my brother likes to say. he watches way too much disney and pixar i swear.” 

“Number please.” Chara offered her phone to him to put the number in.

“i can give you one of two... the other he’d probably dust me if he knew i tried to give it to you... but if he blocks you on the first one... well, you can call the second from my phone then.” He said as he typed in the number. 

“although he might really be pissy by that point... seeing as the second number is only given to... well... that would be telling and i don’t know that you wanna know that just yet.” 

“We will try one first. I don’t want my boyfriend dusted.” Chara dialed the number he entered into her phone and let it ring. Raps settled against the wall his bed was against, watching this. He wondered how far she was going to get.

“Hello, this is Dr. Chara.”

“evening doc. what can i do for ya?” 

“I was told this is the best way to communicate between you and your brother.”

“really now? who told you that?” Raps seemed content to just listen to the back and forth.

“It is just a friend.”

“uh huh...” He didn’t sound convinced.

“Anyway, I am starting a club for beings like myself who are shy and want to make friends and I was wondering if Papyrus would like to join. You may join as well if you so wish.”

“don’t think so and paps ain’t the shy type and he has friends.” Raps rolled his eye lights as if to say ‘right... “friends” of course.’ 

“so i think he’d likely be more likely to try and teach you all how to be great like him instead of actually joining the club. i dunno if you could handle that. he’s pretty enthusiastic.” 

“That will be great too! I would love for him to teach the club! Salsa, my other friend, is currently the only other member so far but… well, I am not that great at m-making friends.”

“i see. well i’ll be sure to tell him all about it and we’ll see what he thinks.” 

“May I please? I wanted to run it passed you because I knew you would give the best advice but I am serious when I say I am trying to make my own friends.”

“uh huh... the friend part i’ll believe, but i wager the whole advice thing is not to be. good try though.” Raps just shrugged in response to that.

“I just didn’t want to cause ruffles. It is hard to make a friend. They… judge you.” Chara was coming clean.

“yeah, i imagine it is. i’m sure raps knows all about _that_. i’d bet a lot that he’s listening to this.” Raps didn’t seem phased.

“Does it matter if he is?”

“nothin’ against you, but i want to keep my brother as far away from that one as possible. he likes to make trouble where he thinks he can help.” 

“I see. Well send my regards to your mate. Your kids look cute and hopefully one day Papyrus can teach one lesson.”

“sure. nice talkin’ to ya doc. have a good evening.” With that the conversation was over.

“You t-“ She heard the click and she sighed.

“not the most polite of monsters. though maybe you wanna run by me what you meant by that end thing you tossed at him.” 

“Which part?”

“when you said it was hard to make friends because they judge you.” 

“Because it is true. Too smart and they call you a nerd. I was told that I wouldn’t amount to anything. That my ideas were worthless and anytime I tried to help they used me and tossed me aside.”


	24. Chapter 24

“ironic then that it would be you who’d save a handful of worlds... millions of lives, with a single idea.” 

“I don’t want anything from it but maybe a thank you. Still, beings like Classic won’t still give me the time of day.”

“hmm, well, unlike those who say what they mean... classic is more like the one he hates the most in that he doesn’t always say it directly. in all honesty, you’re more likely to get at least a text from those two creators that even begins to mention the words ‘thank you’ than you are from him. he’s nihilistic, even with all he’s gained in this life, there’s a part of him that just hasn’t let go... it’s one of the very few things he and i have in common.” 

“Then I know what my next goal in life is… I will be Captain’s friend somehow. Not like I don’t have a million other things I have for goals too.”

“Interesting goal.” 

“I have several goals. One is figuring out why Hope is staying combined. I don’t know why I have the mindset of trying to fix the whole world when I know that is not possible.”

“heh, to that one i say talk to aria... she’s been doing the whole ‘fix the whole world’ since the moment she landed in our multiverse. much as she’s hated by some... you’d be surprised, i think, about her answers to some things and how she maintains balance across so many different worlds.” 

“Would she think me crazy of wanting to do so much?”

“heh, nope. that’d be hypocritical. that’s probably one of the only things she’s never been accused of... there’s rumors about a lot of things about her... speculation... some fact, some just random words from those who either really look up to her or who really hate her... but if you want the truth of things, you have to talk to her yourself. only she can verify anything without any grain of doubt.” 

“Did she know that I could come up with the cure? What if she tells me like my ideas will never come true from now on? Maybe it is a bad idea to talk to her.”

“first off, don’t judge her before you meet her. that’s a mistake a lot make and it has undermined her work many times... at least that’s what she’s told me. she does try to help others, but it’s a lot harder when they expect the worst from her on hearsay or their own fears before they even meet her.” 

“I guess that makes sense. I am sorry.”

“i know you’re nervous, i don’t blame you, i kinda was the same until we got to talking. i can see if she’s up for a chat if you wanna talk to her on speaker.” 

“It was worse before… but I would love a chat.”

“alright.” He tapped his phone and shot off a quick text.

Raps: busy? 

Aria: Not particularly.

Raps: time 4 a chat?

Aria: Sure.

  
  


Raps tapped his phone and set it on speaker as he set it on his lap, it rang once before the other line picked up.

“H-h-hi… shit…” Chara felt her nerves get the better of her.

“Hello Chara, Raps. How are you this evening?” 

“i’m good.” 

“Good.” 

“Good to hear. Anything new?” 

“not much with me, though i can’t say chara would say the same herself.” 

“I a-am… t-trying to s-start a club.” Chara gulped and tried to gather her courage together.

“What kind of club?” 

“To make friends. I want to invite anyone who is shy like me to join.”

“I can’t say I was a fan of clubs in my younger days, but it seems like a good idea.” 

“I t-tried to invite Captain. I t-think I made C-classic upset.”

“Hmm, I very much doubt that you did. You really have to do a lot to actually upset Classic. Though what makes you think that you did?” 

“He basically wouldn’t let me talk to Captain myself.” Chara explained.

“Well, I can see that being an obstacle. The best way to talk to Captain isn’t through a phone. Though he has one himself. Rather... usually the best way is to talk to him face-to-face.” 

“Where can I m-meet him?”

“There’s a cafe on River Street in Sector 1 that gives cooking classes from 1pm to 3pm. Classic is always there five minutes before it starts, with Captain, and arrives to pick him up again at 3 on the dot. Your window will be exactly five minutes after the class starts because Classic lingers around to see who all shows up before leaving to pick up other duties. That will be your chance. You can find the cafe on the corner.”

“What time is it?” Chara asked Raps.

“it’s currently six.” 

“Tomorrow then. Aria, if you know others who might want to join please tell them. I will make this a safe place for all of us.”

“I might know one or two who might be interested. Be an interesting group to say the least.” 

“T-thank you again for b-bringing me here and letting me the o-opportunity to help.”

“Of course.” 

“you gonna ask about that other thing?” Raps asked.

“I am too scared too. You ask!” Chara was so nervous at this point she was physically shaking.

“About?” Aria seemed curious.

“one of the things she asked me earlier was if you knew she’d come up with the cure.” 

“No.” 

“You… didn’t? I thought you knew everything that will happen.”

“I do not. That is misinformation that many like to spread. Especially those who do not favor me. They make it seem like my lack of action is because I know something is going to happen and let it happen anyway... in truth... there is a great deal I do not know. I was once human and I am still bound by the limitations of what it is possible for a human to know. I am not omnipotent even if I am from the other side.”

“I d-didn’t mean to accuse of such things.”

“I’m not offended nor do I believe you purposely accused me of it. Misinformation is something I am constantly fighting and it is no fault of yours that you have heard the wrong things. Especially likely if the source is what I expect it may be.” 

“I guess it will be futile to ask you about why Hope is the way she is then, huh?”

“I actually know more about that than most would think. I did bring her here after all.” Raps looked slightly uneasy at the mention. 

“However, I believe that answer that, with Raps with us, would be rude. It is a very touchy subject for him.” 

“I see, the only one I had for you was did she not want to split herself back to her original two?”

“The two souls refused my offer to make them into two individuals again. Their reason for staying as one is a personal matter, but it was their decision, regardless.” 

“I feel sorry for Sans as Hope left. He really didn’t want her to go.”

“Salsa was best friends with Chara.... And knowing what occurred... or maybe in spite of it, their friendship has not died with their world.” 

“That is beautiful and tragic.”

“It is, perhaps more so when they are all together than apart. I imagine that, eventually, they will-” There was pounding at the door.

“Hope Is Here! Supper Is Ready!”

“Hello Salsa!” Aria calls.

“A-Aria Is In Your Room?”

“no bro, it’s a phone call!” Raps replied.

“Oh, I Was Going To Say, You Are Courting A Lady That Is Rude To Get Involved With Another Beautiful Lady.”

“I don’t think your brother is a player, Salsa.” Aria replied in amusement.

“Not to mention I’m married!” Raps flushed slightly but nodded in agreement.

“Nevertheless! You Are Still Lovely.”

“A charmer as always! I hope to see you again soon! Then you can cook your famous wraps for me!”

“I Would Be Honored My Queen.” 

“Heh, I’m not royalty you silly skeleton.” 

“But You Protect Us All. That Is What The Queen Does!”

“That’s also what the royal guard does... I have more in common with the royal guard than a queen.” 

“Still, I Think You Are Amazing And I Have A Guest To Attend To. Please Visit Soon!”

“Of course! Talk to you later! Tell Hope hello for me.” 

“Will Do!!!” Sound of the fading steps were heard through the door.

“Weew… I didn’t want him to know I was in here.” Chara said with a sigh.

“Can you imagine if he found out?”

“heh... yeah that would have definitely been something i didn’t wanna explain.” There was a chuckle of amusement from Aria.

“Well he already believes you’ll be Raps’ mate... it would be rather hilarious actually because he would then be a very flustered skeleton because there would be on only one -” 

“oh don’t even!” Aria just laughs at Raps’ retort. Chara flushed a deep shade of red as Aria didn’t even need to finish that line for her to figure out where she was going with it.

“You two are cute together.” 

“W-We do? I mean-“

“I was watching at the wedding. Once I helped with the new baby of course. I saw the little ‘show’ however unintentional that was.” Raps rubbed the back of his neck, seeming embarrassed a little by that.

“It was magical.” Chara said without much thought to her words.

“I imagine it was. Have you talked about that yet Raps?” 

“no. not yet.” 

“Might want to, it will explain exactly where Salsa got that idea lodged into his skull.” 

“yeah, been meanin’ ta... just, haven’t yet. been distracted by stuff... like the formula and what not.” 

“Mmm, speaking of, thank you for your work Chara. It’s been a blessing.” 

“I am just glad I can give back. This world is so… amazing. Thank you Aria.”

“I’m just happy that there are those who can appreciate my work, who can appreciate the things that they have without taking it for granted or expecting it to turn on its head.” 

“I have several projects lined up for myself like one is the problem for worlds who have either a Flowey, Chara or Frisk abusing the reset or load to help the hero somehow.”

“That is quite the lofty goal. I admit I’ve been after that one for some time myself, or was originally. I admit I did not have your optimism about stopping such individuals but I felt that - since I was from the other side where such beings had been created - that it fell to me to right the wrongs of such. It was my original drive to help others, to become the third guardian in the multiverses.” 

“I want to help. Even if it is just some tech stuff…”

“Hmm, well, I’ll see what I can do about that. The balance of worlds is a very delicate thing, good or bad... a world cannot exist without conflict of some kind. Else the existence of life becomes meaningless.”

“I figure if I give you the tools, if someone needs the help, you can help them like the cure for the corruption has done or will do…”

“There are many we have already helped with the cure. I’ve been able to disperse it in worlds that were only beginning to see the seeds of it and save them the trouble and heartache many have seen.”

“M-May I a-ask… does this redeem me a l-little bit for all the s-suffering I caused on my w-world?”

“The cost of your redemption, does not fall to what I believe, but what you do. I rescue those who deserve a second chance. As it is, actually, I do not know how far sins may go before I will turn such a soul away... there is such a soul among you who has done far greater sins without remorse... who would have committed such very terrible things to another and to many more - who could not even be stopped by a human with the ability to reset and refused to give in to another way of thinking no matter what the human did... genocide... pacifist... this soul did not care. This soul only thought of themselves and how they could gain things... if any thing they were only a part of what would eventually be the destruction of that world with only a single survivor who could not escape the influence of this soul that was thrust upon them... even with this selfish soul gone from existence through death and destruction of the world. The sins of this soul run very deep. I traveled through time, to put a stop to it, to give two deserving souls a chance at a better life... and to give this soul a chance at redemption... but whether they will take it or not I do not know. One thing is for certain, I made clear that this is their only chance at redemption and that, should they decide to mess it up, that there would be no going back and that the consequences would likely be far more dire than could be imagined.” Her tone was even, but it was clear she held uncertainty and personal distaste for whoever she spoke of, despite that she had - as she had said - brought them into Sanctuaryverse.

“Wow, I guess that makes me doing all that stuff… well it is plain awful still. Was it fixed?”

“Chara, you did the wrong things... for the right reasons, not everyone can say that. There are souls here who have done the wrong things for the wrong reasons as well and some who have done the right things for the wrong reasons. As for fixed... well, that depends I suppose on what you mean.” 

“The s-souls… are they at p-peace.”

“You mean in your world?” Chara nodded even though Aria couldn’t possibly see it.

“Yeah…”

“As much as they can be. I cannot say I have invested any time into that world since I took you from it. There are so many worlds that need care that I cannot simply keep watch of them all, even if I wish to.” 

“I can’t imagine you have time. I understand. I guess I just want to hear that I will eventually find peace with what I did.”

“That is up to you. Peace cannot be given. It cannot be taught. It is something, like patience, that can only be learned by coming to terms with ourselves. With who we are, who we have been and what we want to be. I was a lot more patient and tolerant in my younger days of things that I probably should not have been. Yet, it was because I was that many lives were not disrupted... and yet, because of this also many lessons that should have been taught were left in silence. As the saying goes, with humans, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree... and many who would do me harm came from those who cared naught for others, but only for themselves and family. Such humans are the scourge of existence, they always have been and always shall be. Trying to squish them out is like trying to exterminate a colony of cockroaches by stepping on them one by one.”


	25. Chapter 25

“I’ve been trying to approach this new life like this ‘when a door closes, another one opens.’ ”

“A good way to look at it, also, sometimes, when doors don’t open.... Open a window. You never know who may be listening. I’m sure Raps could tell you for certain that is why your old boss is no longer where he was.” 

“Is that so?”

“you sure keep an eye on us don’t ya?” 

“This world is my creation... it is like my child. Of course I keep a close eye on you.” 

“You don’t watch us when we like go to the bathroom and stuff so you?” 

“Heavens no. That’s an invasion of privacy and I have no interest in such private functions. I tend to stay out of such places when I look into various parts of this world unless I feel something bad is happening.”

“Just curious, sorry.”

“It’s fine. I can’t blame you for asking something like that.” 

“Why do we humans don’t have the same abilities as you and Nicole?” Aria chuckled a little.

“I get this one a lot actually. The truth of that is that both Nicole and I are from a multiverse outside of yours. Outside its reach except under the very most rare of circumstances, were this not true the multiverses would be flooded with all the Creators coming over. The best way to explain this is by the most simple of examples. Say that you, Chara, decide that you’re going to draw a person on a piece of paper. Regardless of your talent, that person you drew now exists. To you, they exist on that paper and that’s all there is to them. They might not have a name, or a home or there might not even be anyone else like them because they are simply on that page alone and you do nothing else with it. Now, let’s say, you decide that instead of leaving them there you give them a pet, maybe some family, a house to live in and so forth in the background of your original drawing of this person. To you, this is a work of art and nothing more. Where I am from, this place you live in, where you exist and live your lives, are nothing more to those in that multiverse than the words that I convey to them. To them, you are simply a story told for entertainment. They do not realize that I am on the other side, with you. They simply believe I’m just another human who’s writing stories from my own imagination. They do not realize you are real. That you exist as a living, breathing human with your own thoughts and feelings, just as you would not realize the exact same of a drawing you have just done. It is just that complex and that simple. This is one of the reasons Classic is so nihilistic. Before he came here, he and all the timelines along the Alpha Timeline, became aware that they were being treated as nothing but toys for someone who could control time. Whether they were a pacifist or a genocidal maniac didn’t make much difference aside from the outcome of their timeline. Even my interference in many such timelines was met with indifference and lack of care. What Classic cares about, what he even sees as being worthy of his time and effort... is boiled down to just a very small handful of individuals in his life and anyone or anything that tries to threaten them is in for a very rough ride.” 

“W-wow… I never thought of it that way. That is depressing.” Chara said solemnly.

“Am I still under someone’s control?”

“No, those who live in Sanctuaryverse operate under the same free will that all living things should.” 

“If I punch Papyrus it is because of my own choice? I mean I would never punch you of course.” Chara was saying that part to Raps. 

“Correct. Your actions are from your own thoughts, not from someone else’s ideals.” 

“I think I understand what you mean when you say I didn’t have much choice. If someone is controlling me obviously I can’t decide my fate.” 

“Correct. Your past was decided for you. Your future, on the other hand, is up to you. This is the true freedom I have given those who come to this world.” 

“Why would you give us so much power if that is the case? Aren’t you afraid we might rise up against you?”

“Wouldn’t you? If you came across a soul, regardless of what their physical form, who could think and feel as you do? Whose life had been driven to know only misfortune and pain... would you not wish a better life for them if it were in your power to give it?” 

“W-well… you make a good point. That is why I want to help, not because of the knowledge of someone controlling us but I don’t want someone to suffer like I did.” 

“That is why I give you the choice. That you may be able to pursue happiness, for happiness, like love, cannot be faked for if it is there is no true fulfillment in it. It comes off as hollow, empty, meaningless. Just as the Creator of the world I came from gave me free will and taught me compassion... so do I try to spread it to others when I can. I am not perfect, sometimes I will make mistakes, like any mortal creature, but what I do is because I do not wish to see others suffer.” 

“You have a creator too? Woah… how many creators are there?” 

“Well, not in the same sense you do, but yes. The very first life form was given life by someone before those like me gave life to those like you. Someone had to create us. This is the God that I know and though I may speak little of it, it is my belief. In a power higher than myself, that can do things I cannot.”

“It makes logical sense. I mean if you are a Creator, and it would make sense you have a creator of source.” 

“Indeed.” 

“Then I will try to live my life to the fullest since you given me such a gift.” 

“Sounds like a good plan to me.”

“I will let you go now. Thank you once again for everything you have done for us.” 

“Alright, you two have a good evening.” After the phone clicked off Chara moved closer to Raps and dared to be bold by tugging at his collar and started to make out with him. He wrapped his arms around her as he returned the kiss.

“Papyrus! Hurry Up The Tacos Are Going To Get Cold!” Salsa yelled as Chara was too busy making out with Raps to even care. He didn’t seem to notice either. Soon enough there was pounding at the door. 

“Papyrus, Are You Even Here?” Raps smirked a little when he pulled away from the kiss and shot off a quick text to his brother.

  
  


broski: will be a little late to supper, got called away for a quick errand

He then quietly slid the thing under a pillow to muffle any vibration before he pulled her back for a kiss.

“You sneaky skelly.” Chara muttered.

“Can I try something? Like french kissing?” He nodded in response. She leaned in and opened her mouth as she slowly stuck out her tongue.

“Otay … I n-never wone this before.” 

“me either.” She pressed her tongue against his teeth.

“A-am I woing this wite?” 

“how ‘m i supposet know?” He muttered back. 

“Twis doesn’t f-feel sexy…” Chara put her tongue back into her mouth and took out her phone. She youtubed a video and it was Lust showing different ways to french kiss. 

“hmmm... pfff... omt.”

“Oh m t?” 

“my toriel.” He replied.

“i know that guy. “

“W-well he seems to k-know what he is doing…” 

“him and the rest of his kind, yeah. some are still workin’ the streets, but from what i’ve heard most of ‘em got out, including him and his brother.” 

“Okay, so what I understand of this video. I open my mouth and you insert your tongue into my mouth and things happen?” Chara said with a shrug.

“pff, lemme see.” Chara hands over the phone. It was mostly Lust making out with his mate and calling it a “lesson”. 

“pff, gotta give the guy credit for makin’ an excuse to french his girl on the web.” 

“Also, if he used to do this on the streets at least he is probably making more money this way than- I believe the term is tricks or something like that.” 

“turning tricks... and honestly, i dunno. i don’t know much about the guy other than he used ta do it and was cursed but eventually had it removed. his brother still deals with the curse, but he has a mate too... i dunno how that works and i don’t honestly wanna know _that_ much about any monster.” 

“Should we try this french kiss thing?” 

“yeah, let’s try this again.” He set the phone aside; he had a better idea this time of what this all entailed. 

“So… I just open my mouth like this.” She made an ahh sound. He chuckled a little in amusement and gently cupped her face as he slid his tongue along hers. It was a new and odd sensation really, but not unpleasant. She let out a shocked sound but soon sunk into the kiss unsure if she should put her tongue into his. Eventually, she stuck her tongue into his mouth tasting him. It was a lot more different the second time around. She pulled him closer and a soft moan escaped her. He wasn’t sure about the sensation, but he liked the sound from her, that was enough for him to continue.

“I t-think I like this…” Somehow she found herself pinned to the bed and she was okay with it.

“i like the sounds you make.” He murmured before he dove in for another kiss. She returned the kiss while a flush covered her whole face. Her grip on reality was slipping away as she found herself giving into her desires. He didn’t go further than kisses though even as he enjoyed the moment, in just being with her.

“T-that was… incredible…” Chara muttered as she gave him little love pecks on his cheeks. She was breathless but very content.

“you’re what’s incredible.” He replied after a moment. She had no words to respond to that. He made her speechless. The silence was comfortable until it was broken by a text Raps got. He glanced over at it briefly, just to make sure it wasn’t important.

lilbro: I Am Going To Grillby’s I Think I Need A Drink.

broski: okay, just don’t stay out too long

“What is going on?” 

“just sans sayin’ he was goin’ out... i think he’s feelin’ a bit lonely about now... and not in the sense of being alone.” 

  
  
  
  


When Salsa walked into the bar he noticed there were two figures in black cloaks. One was obviously a skeleton, but the other one... the hand that reached for the drink had flesh on it and looked human.... If humans had nails that curved like claws that is. There was a seat between the two robed figures and so far no one seemed to dare to want to take it. 

“Can I Sit Here?” Salsa asked. 

“Go ahead.” Aria says with a smile even as the other turns.

“Who the... are you?” The figure seems to hesitate. 

“Manners please.” 

“Fine, fine...” The other grumbles before knocking back the tall glass before them.

“You Had A Bad Day Too?” Salsa was trying to be polite as he flagged for a drink.

“Day? Ha! Try a life.” 

“Tyra. Come now, don’t start again. Grillby has heard it enough times tonight.” 

“Fine, but only because of him. Sure as hell not for you.” There was a clear simmering animosity from the other, but Aria didn’t seem at all bothered by it as Grillby came over to take Salsa’s order.

“I Will Have Something Strong. Please.” The other nods and comes back with a fizzing sapphire blue drink. A few minutes later. The name of the drink was the Fuzzy Waterfall... but its name was a deception as it was like a long island iced tea but instead of coke it had some blueberry juice that did little for the taste, but made it the color it was. Salsa sipped the drink and seemed like a thousand miles away as he recalled the evening events. 

“So, what brings you here then? You don’t seem the type to need a stiff drink.” Tyra tried after a moment. 

“Somebody I used to know thinks it is better we don’t see each other anymore.” Salsa felt his soul ache as he sipped the drink.”

“Ah... yeah, that can sting alright, I guess. I can’t say I’d know much about that... at least... not directly. Heh... the one who gave me that kinda message didn’t do it in person and... well, never mind.” She said after a moment and ordered a second drink. 

“You’re not here for a pity party, stop it already. You’re not a child.” Aria chides gently.

“Yeah, yeah... I’m just waitin’ to see how fucked up this place gets.” Aria merely sighs.

“This Place Is A Nice Place. Aria And Nicole Do A Lot.” 

“Uh huh, I’ll just bet they do.” 

“Aria, Forgive My Rudeness.” Salsa said before taking the remainder of the drink and pouring it over the girl’s head. Aria gave Salsa a look before chuckling.

“You Need To Cool Off.” 

“... What are you five? Ugh.” She flicked the robes and the liquid came off and dumped itself into the empty cup again it had come from. 


	26. Chapter 26

“Do not misuse your gift.”

“I won’t ‘mom’ geeze.” Tyra grumbles.

“Another creator?” 

“I wish.” Tyra said.

“No, she’s not. I created her and... later regretted what I had done. I made her when I was younger, more foolish. Before I understood the multiverse theory and its ramifications. You can say that, in a way, where she is from is like a genocide run... but on a much larger scale.”

“That’s putting it nicely. I was born into a war kid. I’ve watched friends and loved ones die to things that can’t be called demons or monsters... they barely are even what you’d call alive really. And they kill without hesitation... ain’t pretty to look at neither and smell like - well, if you’ve ever been in a barn... try mixing that smell with the smell of vomit and you could get close to what they smell like when ya slice one up.” 

“Then This Place Should Be Paradise.” Salsa contradicts. 

“More like hell. At least home I had friends... family... not that it lasted long really... and I learned the hard way I wasn’t meant to trust anyone but myself. I was mentored for a time and then betrayed... I haven’t made that mistake since. Seein’ everyone so damn happy here makes me wanna puke because no one realizes what reality can be like.” 

“I Am Sorry You Feel That Way. Some Of The Realities Here Have Seen Bad Things But You Are Not The Only One Who Suffered.” 

“True... the only horror anyone here’s seen that I miraculously _missed_ out on was the whole rape thing. That aside... ain’t nothin’ I ain’t been through other than that.” 

“Don’t exaggerate.” Tyra ignores the comment.

“That Is Like Saying My Life Experiences Is Nothing Like Your Own.” 

“Pretty much is. Considering your attire... I wager you came from a timeline where the human... one or both, didn’t go ape shit and dust you thousands of times.” 

“No, We Were Much Crueler To Them. They Ended Up Fusing Together To Survive.” Salsa got up from his chair and headed for the door tired of this conversation. 

“Man, I don’t know what’s more fucked up. My life or the other shit you come up with.” Tyra shot at Aria who left the bar to go after Salsa, ignoring the parting shot. Salsa went outside and glanced at an old photo of him, Chara and Raps. It was his favorite and he often used it for inspiration. He tore it in half, dropped the pair and walked on. 

Aria stopped nearby, but kept a respectful distance when she saw him looking at the photo. She then gathered the remains up and sighed inwardly. Tucking the two halves away for a moment before following him. He made his way to a clearing to watch the stars. It was something he always dreamed he would get to see but he would give it up for his friendship again. He laid down in the grass and let himself grief for the loss. She didn’t say anything when she caught up to him, but she sat down next to him and handed him a handkerchief. He covered his sockets with his arm and with the free hand took the handkerchief. 

“S-sorry.” Salsa muttered.

“You have no reason to be. I am sorry about Tyra. I’m afraid what I have done to her has left her very bitter towards anyone and everyone. Even if we have our sins it does not mean she has a right - nor is it right - that she make others feel worse about what they have... who they are, because of it.” 

“Papyrus Would Say It Wouldn’t Hurt Unless It Is True Or Something Like That.”

“Hmmm, I have to disagree. Not all things that hurt are truthful... and not all truths hurt. I think I can prove this point, if you let me.” 

“Sure, G-Go Ahead.” 

She pulled out her phone and tapped it, pulling up the gallery and then showed him a photo. It was of a human couple. A young man was lounging in a chair next to an older woman; it was clearly taken by a third party who couldn’t be seen. The man was clearly in his twenties while the other was older, she had sunglasses on, but dark chestnut hair that fell like rippled waterfalls down her shoulders. She wasn’t a model by any means, but she wasn’t disfigured either. The two both were smiling at the camera.

“Tell me, what do you think? Perhaps more specifically about the female.” 

“She Looks A Little Bit Like You. It Looks Like The Girl Has To Cover Her Eyes For Some Reason.” 

“It was sunny out. Humans wear sunglasses to protect their eyes, but what is your opinion on her, based on what you see... well, besides that she is covering her eyes from the sunlight of course.” 

“I Dunno… It Appears Just Like A Couple Or Brother And Sister?” 

“They were a couple. For a while... but that ended because he found someone prettier. What do you make of that?” 

“Well He Is A Jerk! Looks Aren’t Everything! She Looks Beautiful! Let Me Beat Up The Guy!” 

“You’re very kind Salsa... and you can’t. He’s beyond your reach. This is a very old photograph and your first comment was not far off the mark. This was taken July 4th, 2014.”

“Oh… So It Is You. You Were Beautiful Then Too.” 

“Me and my ex. Thank you.” 

“What I meant about proving my point, however, was this. Until I met him... and long before I came here... the only one who would tell me I was beautiful was my father. I was bullied in school, told I was ugly... and even once a girl who was heavier than I was called me fat... Was any of it true? Perhaps the lather a little, but even so I was not ugly. I do not think I ever was but because of the skewed sense of beauty that told me I wasn’t beautiful... and a society that worshiped something that made me ill... I have no sense of human beauty at all.” 

“I Think You Do. Your Soul Is Beautiful And You So You Have Human Beauty.” 

“Well, having a sense of fashion is different from knowing what is beautiful Salsa. Consider it this way... you know what it’s like to try for a goal that is beyond your reach... but, you do not know what it is like to obtain that goal, because you haven’t yet. This is how I view the concept of human beauty. It is something that is out of my reach because it is like a goal I have not obtained. Something that I should know, and yet when I am asked all I can do is shrug because I cannot comprehend what is truly being asked. I lost the ability, after a certain time in my life, to judge what was beautiful in human form, and what was not.” 

“Yeah, I Do Know That Feeling…” Salsa sighed and looked up at the stars. 

“Hope Said Until Further Notice We Cannot Be Friends.” 

“I might know why she said this... and the matter is... rather a difficult one to find balance with, but, you should not give up on your dream just yet. After all, your friend is not gone.” 

“I Want To Accept Them Both But Maybe I Haven’t Suffered Enough To Deserve A Second Chance Like Your Friend Did?”

“I didn’t bring her here because she suffered... I brought her here... out of her multiverse to this one... because of guilt. I could have left her where she was, but I wanted to give her a second chance. She has not yet taken it. She was the first that I set out to give a second chance to.” 

“Miss Aria, Will I Find My Perfect Dance Mate One Day?” 

“Yes.” 

“Today Sucks.” Salsa sniffed. 

“Yes, I know.... But perhaps you should hang on to this until there is no going back for certain.” She handed over the photo he had dropped; as if he had never torn it.

“I D-don’t Deserve This… I D-don’t…” He was trying to be strong. 

“I have one last bit of advice for you tonight... Those who believe themselves the least deserving, are usually those who have done more than enough to deserve it. Who have suffered more than their fair share and deserve to be happy; there is a saying that is one of many that I live by. ‘What we deserve is not always what we choose, but what we are deserving of is often what others are willing to do for us.’ “ 

“Do You Think One Day I Can Be With Hope Again?” Salsa muttered softly as took the photo back. 

“I think, that if you have patience, and keep faith in your friend. That you will see each other again. I also think that there is more to this than you realize... and not in the way meaning you haven’t seen all of Hope, but perhaps you should truly examine things as they are and try to figure out what the meaning is behind everything. For nothing is done without purpose.” 

“Are You Saying I Should Give Her Some Space And Wait For Them To Come To Me?” 

“Not exactly. What I am saying is that, once you have managed to get over your sorrow of what did happen, you should examine the events, see if maybe you can better understand their actions and your own. Not everything is always as it seems and there may yet be motives you missed before because you were - as the saying goes - in the thick of things. Emotions can cloud the mind and we can miss sometimes the very most obvious of things when we are too filled with passion, sorrow, or hatred.” 

“They M-mentioned That They Caused Too Much Pain And There Are Things That I Won’t Be Able To Understand Without Knowing The Whole Truth.” 

“Well, let’s examine that for a moment then. The first part... too much pain, who are they causing pain to? You? Someone else? Someone you know? Someone you don’t? Or someone you both do?” Aria knew she could give him the answers, but giving the answers to everything would mean that he would not learn to think about these things on his own. As a wise saying went: Give a man a fish you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.

“I Don’t Know. The Only Time They Seem Weird Is …” Salsa sat up and looked at Aria in the eyes.

“Is It My Brother? Are They In A Love Triangle With My Brother And Chara?” 

“No, they are not a love triangle, but you are on the right track. It does have something to do with Papyrus.” 

“What Could It Be? Papyrus Seemed To Act Weird Around Them Too. He Is Actively Avoiding Them.” 

“Yes, I’m aware of this. I’ve spoken to him about it... and I am not the only one.” 

“Is… Is It Because Of The T-Tests We Did?” Salsa didn’t partake in half of the tests Raps did to Chara and Frisk. 

“Hmmm, I would imagine so, but I don’t think that’s the entirety of it. Their interactions are weird - as you put it - mostly because of him. He is unable to push past what was done. Seeing her, causes him great unease and shame.” 

“Has She Forgiven Me? I … Sometimes I Can’t And I Hate Myself For What I Did To Them.” 

“Yes, I know you do. Forgiveness is easy when it comes to others, but forgiving ourselves is a very difficult thing to do. I’m very much aware of this concept. To answer your first question, as far as I have been made aware neither holds anything against you. Their opinion on your brother, however, is something of a contest between the two souls.” 

“I Didn’t Know Frisk But I Knew Chara. Chara Was So Nice And Caring.” 

“Your brother knew them both, in a way... because he figured out how to separate who was speaking through dialogue. Sans, you have known both Frisk and Chara because Frisk was never far from Chara. Even though you and your brother were exceedingly young when Frisk perished, their soul was always close by any human that came down into the Underground, but more closely with Chara, because they both shared the same soul trait. If you think about it long enough, you’ll remember times when Chara seemed different than usual... and those times are when Frisk had control.” 

“I Guess Sometimes Chara Was Sadder Than Usual... Maybe… That Is When Frisk Took Control?” 

“One of many times. Like Chara, Frisk wanted to find a way to free the Underground, but the illness took them before they could find a way to do so. Like Chara, they wanted to help... and thus suggested the first tests be done on them by your mother; who, at the time, was the royal scientist. Unfortunately there was someone who was not so kind as your mother was.” 

“Who? My Dad? No, He Wouldn’t…” 

“You’re right, he wouldn’t. No... it lay to someone else... someone your brother hasn’t mentioned to you because this being was the same one who convinced him to do what he did, a monster he trusted because this monster was his very best friend at the time.” 

“I Didn’t Do It! Oh… Wait… Toriel?” 

“Heh, outside of you and no. The one who convinced him was the only other skeleton in the Underground besides your family.”

“D-dr. Gaster?” 

“Correct.” 

“Gaster, or Wingding, as Raps used to call him, was a very brilliant mind. He was charismatic, loyal to the crown and was also an assistant to your mother at the time. He seemed like a model citizen.”

“Papyrus Admired That Skeleton With All His Soul. My Brother Nor My Mother Would Trust Such A Vile Soul If That Was The Case.” 

“Here in lies the problem my friend. They did not know. Had Gaster approached your brother with some of the tests he later asked him and you to do... your brother would have thought he was mad and rejected the idea. No, it was done slowly. Like any indoctrination. Like a small lie that slowly grows bigger as more and more false information is fed upon it. Being the charismatic that he was, Gaster slowly introduced your brother to his own ideals so that when the time came for something to be done that might be seen as questionable... your brother had so much faith in his friend at that time that he did not hesitate. After all, by that time, the two of them were one of the few top scientists at the time. Why should they not? After all, it was to free monsterkind. What more noble of a purpose was it? What would _one_ human matter? The manipulation of words goes on and on.” 

“We Were H-helping To Do The R-right Thing. He Wouldn’t Hurt Someone. Not My Brother…”

“And yet he did. Not because he was a bad monster, not because he hated humans... but because he thought he was doing the right thing... If you think about it, there was a point when your brother started to throw himself beneath the bus... so to speak. Where he would be exhausted even after sleeping for hours on end. His conscious, even if pushed and pushed, would not let him forget that some of the things that he was doing weren’t right. Some things he did, haunted his dreams and still do. He cannot find it in himself to begin to forgive himself for what he has done- even though Frisk and Chara have.”

“When Hope Was Made… Did He Know That Was Going To Happen?”

“No. That was truly an accident. A miscalculation he blames himself for not seeing. Yet, it was meant to happen because that timeline was nearing its end. It was supposed to self-destruct. However, I intervened in order to give you two the chance to find redemption... and Chara and Frisk refused to be left behind... so I brought them along as well.”

“Who Named Them? All I Remember The Next Time I Met Them. They Were Different.”

“That was because they chose to have a few things erased. They did not want to forget, but there were some things they did not want to remember either. In order to fulfill their wish, some things were erased from your mind and your brother’s as well. As for their name, they chose it themselves.” 

“It Is A Pretty Name. Thank You Aria, For Listening To Me. I Don’t Think My Brother Takes Me Seriously Sometimes And I Appreciate You Really Hearing Me.”

“I will always listen. I think you should know that he does take you seriously and he does listen to you... however, he may not always understand you. That is where the differences come in. After all, he told you his secret and has allowed you to stand at his side during meetings. Your brother is a revolutionary in this. He did not have to do this... I merely suggested to him that he take the second life thing seriously and do things differently. I never told him to do things this way.” 

“I Think… Tomorrow When I Can Think Clearly I Will Invite Him Out To Talk It Out.”

“That sounds like a good idea to me. Although, if you truly wish to speak of things he does not want the public to know... might I suggest a walk up the mountain? It is secluded, but still full of wonderful wildlife. Of course there is no underground in the mountain. It is merely to represent the place you all came from.” 

“I Trust You. Even If There Was I Imagine It Is Only Made For Those Who Need Safety Of The Underground.”

“Hmm, an idea, but not yet fact. Those I bring here know from the start that what I offer is a completely different life chance. Something that does not involve the life they knew before outside of those I bring with them. Sometimes, not even that as some scatter upon entering this world and many do not even remember their roots - their choice, of course.” 

“I Am Thinking Of Beings Who Are Still Struggling To Accept The Outside. To Give Them A Chance To Slowly Adapt.”

“Hmmm, I have not come across such individuals yet, but if and when such occurs, you can be certain I will take your idea under advisement as a choice for those who are not ready to deal with humans or those who are too similar to themselves.” 

“I Think Classic Despite Him Wanting This Freedom Desires The Thing That Held Him Captive For So Long.”

“Oh? How did you come to this conclusion?” 

“If You Are Truly Free Of The Shackles That Bind You. You Can Look At The Marks Left Behind And Be Proud You Survived And Move On.”

“Hmm... I will bring it up with him and your brother... as they seem the most likely among those who are here. From what I have seen.”

“Some Of The Worst Prisons Are The Ones We Create Up Here.” Salsa pointed at his skull.

“Very true. You are a very remarkable skeleton, Sans. Smart in ways many would not expect. I believe that, whatever you put your mind to doing, you will inevitably accomplish it. Patience might not be an easy virtue - I should know - but it is usually one of the most rewarding when the time that requires patience has come to an end. I believe that, regardless of what happens, you will find what you are looking for and perhaps more.” 

“Will You Sit With Me For A Bit Longer To Watch The Stars?”

“Of course.” 

“I Wish I Could Count All The Stars.” 

“And why would you want something like that?” She didn’t think she need to point out the futility of such an endeavor, but she was curious.

“Even Though It Is Endless It Fascinates Me To Watch It Change. No Star Stays Forever And Will Eventually Die But Others Will Take Its Place.”

“True.” 

“Anyway, I Just Enjoy The Thought Of Knowing Something For Once That No One Else Would Know.”


	27. Chapter 27

“Heh, well, you actually do know something that only three other living souls know.” 

“Oh?... I Guess I Can’t Be The Fourth Can I?” 

“You are the fourth soul, to know what I once looked like as a human.” 

“R-really?” 

“Yes, the only other ones who know what I looked like as a human is my eldest son, my mate and Nicole. I would have added Classic to the list except that he no longer remembers... so it doesn’t really count.” 

“He Chose To Forget?” 

“More like he found other things to remember that he thought were more important. Classic’s been through so much that he only remembers specific things... sadly, few of them very good things except in the recent years with his new family.” 

“That Is A True Shame.” 

“Indeed.”

“Thank You For Sharing That Secret But That Isn’t A Secret You Should Be Hiding From The World As This … Moment Didn’t Define You. You Changed Like A Caterpillar And Now You Are A Butterfly…. Well A Butterfly That Can Control A Lot Of Things.” 

“You’re not wrong, but the reason I keep it secret is because I have a lot of enemies who would use it to ruin me in the eyes of others. It is easier to wave off a random being’s knowledge of me being human before now if they cannot prove it. Thus, there are no photos of me as a human but those I keep myself.” 

“Why Show Me If It Is So Dangerous?”

  
  
  


Meanwhile…

“Does your brother normally drink?” Chara asked eating the meal that was left behind from Salsa. He didn’t even put the food away. That was different.

“no. he usually goes there for the food... believe it or not. grillby makes some awesome milkshakes... for a fire element.” 

“He doesn’t seem the type to not clean up his dirty dishes too.” Chara pointed at the two dirty plates at the table. 

“he’s not, it means he’s seriously distracted. it’s not common, but i’d be lying if i said this was the first time this has happened... the thing is, that thing that haunts me... does him as well, just to a different extent because he wasn’t there for all of it like i was. sometimes it just gets to him, every once in a while he has bad days where all he can think about is... that.” 

“I See And You Don’t Plan To Tell Me Do You?” 

“it’s about as easy to talk about as you find your own to talk about.” 

“I didn’t mean to hit a nerve.” Chara said feeling put on the spot as she quietly took the dirty plates away. She returned and began to eat her meal. 

“you’re fine, i just want to be honest about it... well, as much as possible anyway.” 

“It is not my place to say what you can or not say about your past. I just feel that since you know some of my past you … never mind. It is okay.” She took a bite of her taco.

“we both kinda just know the basics i think, the only difference between us - from what i’ve learned - is that you hurt monsters while trying to help them... and i hurt humans trying to help monsters.” 

“Humans and monsters. Not that I think it is bragging material.”

“i see. i guess i can’t say i technically hurt monsters since i just dusted the whole universe instead.” 

“Ahhh so you did it just for the heck of it? Did you like the feel of the power? I remember enjoying the sensation… Then again… it depends what you were trying to do I guess. I was actively killing others to get stronger and after a while… I think I snapped a little.” 

“no...” He muttered.

“... chara wanted to help us break the barrier. she insisted... despite how many times i asked... i shoulda said no. shoulda said it wasn’t ready... but she was so dang determined.... and i didn’t realize i’d fucked up until it was far too late to stop it.” 

“You went in trying to do the right thing at someone’s insistence. That sounds way too familiar to mine.” 

“i did the wrong thing... for the right reasons. it doesn’t make it any better.” 

“Maybe not but I understand where you're coming from.” 

“yeah... it’s... easier to talk to you about it, even if not in detail.” 

“Asriel, was… very convincing. That I was doing the right thing. I killed all sorts of souls until I killed six other human souls. Not only was I over LVL 20 with all dusting I did but... it was just all for him to take my soul for his greedy purposes.”

“pretty sure gaster could give him lessons... i didn’t realize until later i was dupped into doing some... pretty horrific things. by the time i realized it... it was far too late and the only thing left for me to do was my job... i pushed him into the core to make sure he couldn’t return. my very best friend... i wish i could have seen it sooner what sort of soul he was.” 

“I wished I could’ve at least got revenge against Asriel.” 

“it’s not worth it. it’s one thing to think about it... and another to do it. in the end... i was worse off for what i did... even if it was to protect others from him. he was like my brother... and i... i ended his life. it’s one of my deepest regrets. because he trusted me... i could have done something earlier on to help him be better.” 

“Do you honestly think the one who tricked me into murdering all those beings really deserved mercy? He murdered me even.” 

“i didn’t say that. just that it’s worse if you’re the one to do it. there’s no release in getting revenge.” He was quiet a moment before he asked.

“what were you told that made you do it?” 

“I was told that I was able to go back in time that I could save everyone afterwards. That the murdering was just temporary… time went by and I would ask when I could go back. He would ask what I did that day and he kept close track of what I was changing into.”

“i was told that the experiments would help free monsterkind... that the souls wouldn’t feel anything. that they were shaking a little because of fluctuations in magic... not because they were silently screaming in agony..."

“We were both played for fools.”

“yeah.”

“I fucking hate my past life.” 

“we’re in the same boat there.” 

“I wish my last life didn’t even happen. The Royal Family refused to see me.” He went over to her and put his arms around her without saying anything. She wrapped her arms around him. She began to silently weep.

“I d-didn’t mean to kill them…”

“i know.” He held her close, letting her cry.

“Y-you didn’t either… you d-didn’t want others to suffer. You are a g-good being.” 

“so are you. don’t forget that.” He murmured.

“W-why is it so hard to convince myself t-that?”

“because we know our hands our soiled.” He murmured after a moment.

“W-will we ever f-find that peace?”

“i dunno.” 

“Y-you accept me e-even though you know the truth?”

“yes.”

“I a-accept you too. I know y-you didn’t ask it but… I want to tell you that still.” He lightly combed his fingers through a bit of her hair.

“i trust you.” He says softly.

“I n-never told anyone my whole story. My parents were disappointed in me and pushed me into the hole. The first being I met was Asriel. I thought he could be trusted but... he promised a falsehood. A family if I helped him out...” 

“we’ll be your family... if you let us.”

“Isn’t it weird if I kiss my brother?” 

“never said i was your brother.” He replied.

“You said b-be… are you proposing?” 

“i am in love with you. so, yeah.” 

“I am in love with you… so… fuck yeah!” Chara caressed his face and pressed her lips against his teeth for a loving kiss. He returned the loving kiss.

“I never thought I would be engaged so soon after meeting you. I had a feeling the moment I met you… you were special.”

“heh. well you were somethin’ else too ya know? guess we can’t say brother wasn’t right... heh. i’ll admit i missed it the first time... even after you described it to me. twice.” 

“Described it twice?” 

“a perfect dance only happens between mates or those fated to be mates.” 

“W-wait… we danced… at a coffee shop…” Chara started to recall something that was previously blocked from her.

“or was that a dream?” 

“no, it was real.” 

“Why didn’t I- couldn’t remember that until now? Did I hurt myself?”

“no, at least not as far as i know you didn’t. it was the first time we danced though.” 

“I am s-sorry I guess I wasn’t thinking straight or I was too involved.”

“nothing to be sorry over.” 

“Well I remember now and I remember how amazing it was now.” 

“that’s why they call it a perfect dance... or one of the reasons.” 

“What is the other reason?”

“the two dancers will never miss a step, never be off beat, they are in perfect sync regardless of experience... just as the name suggests. and you don’t have to be from the same world either for it to happen. it happens because two souls connect and resonate with one another on the same wavelength. i will never dance with another the way i dance with you.” Chara was just moved and by his words and kissed him lovingly.

“I love you! Even if our worlds were so far apart we still found each other. That is the greatest act of mercy we both didn’t deserve but was granted.”

“yeah, i agree.” He replied with a smile before kissing her again.

“we should set a date, and tell everyone. heh, sans is gonna be excited.” 

“I can’t wait to tell him! Let’s wait for him in the living room to tell him.” 

“alright.” He followed her.

“shall we discuss dates or something while we wait?” Raps hoped that his brother was feeling better when he came back to the house, he hadn’t had a chance to ask him what was bothering him earlier that night. 


End file.
